Truth about Josie
by kitsune jewel
Summary: What if Josie was able to tell Sam the truth about being a reporter for the Sun Times, would he have accepted or scorn her because of her lies? Come and find out! AU
1. Chapter 1

(Disclaimer, I would like to give the credit to the real author Beth Mott since i didn't know who wrote this story before I couldn't give credit where credit was due. Thank You!)

_I have something to tell you._

Josie's words still hung in the air as she looked up from turning off her camera and into Sam's emotion filled eyes.

"I have something to tell you too." He told her, his voice husky with feeling. Josie blushed and looked down at her feet for a moment before looking up and smiling at him. "Can we go somewhere and talk?" He asked softly.

She nodded her head, then shyly asked. "Can we finish this dance first?"

Giving her a warm smile he replied. "I'd like that." She smiled back and he slid his arm further around her waist to pull her a little closer to him. Josie responded by lacing her fingers through his and giving his hand a gentle squeeze. They spent the rest of the song staring deeply into each other's eyes, their hearts racing with excitement.

When the song ended both Sam and Josie felt a wave of mixed emotion wash over them. They were disappointed that the song was finished, yet at the same time they were excited about the conversation that they were about to have.

"Shall we go outside and talk?" He asked as he led her off the dance floor, their fingers still intertwined. Josie nodded shyly and he gave her hand another quick squeeze before releasing it. Then taking her by the elbow he let her lead the way through the crowd to the door.

They'd almost managed to escape unnoticed until they reached the 'in-crowd' table. Gibby, Kirstin and Kristen all looked up as Josie passed. "Josie, where are you going?" Gibby asked curiously, giving the other girl a friendly smile. "Why don't you join us?"

"Thanks, Gibby." Josie acknowledged, giving the three Barbie girls a polite smile. "But I think I'm going to go get some air. It's kind of stuffy in here."

"Hey, we'll go with you!" Kirstin volunteered, looking at the other girls for agreement.

Josie tried to suppress her grin as she felt Sam's grip on her elbow tighten in alarm at Kirstin's suggestion. She could also tell he was holding his breath as he awaited her reply. "That's okay, Kirstin. I appreciate the offer, but Mr. Coulson and I have something to discuss about my college application anyway."

"But it's Prom." Kristen complained, giving both of them a pleading look. "Can't that wait until tomorrow?"

Josie felt her patience waning with these three, but keeping her lid on her temper she said. "Don't worry, the night's still young. I'll be back shortly. Besides, I'm curious to hear what Mr. Coulson has to say." She felt a tingle of excitement shoot through her as Sam squeezed her elbow again.

"Okay, but don't be too long." Gibby pouted slightly. "Guy will be looking for you soon."

Now it was Sam's turn to feel Josie tense at the mention of her date. "Don't worry, I'll be back before he even misses me." She commented after glancing over to where he was dancing with Sera. Looking back at the trio she smiled and said "Excuse us" before heading for the door.

"Poor Josie." Gibby sighed, watching her friend disappear through the door. "Imagine being forced to discuss college on Prom night." The other two added their agreement before turning their attention back to the party around them.

"Josie!"

As soon as Josie stepped outside the door of the country club she heard someone call her name. Turning towards the sound of the voice she saw George rushing towards her. "What is it, George?"

"We lost the feed!" He quickly told her. "Gus is going nuts!" He stopped suddenly when Sam appeared through the doors and stood beside Josie.

"Tell Gus that I must be experiencing some technical difficulties with the feed..." She told George seriously.

"But Josie…" The Black man tried to interject but she cut him off.

"Tell him that I must be experiencing some technical difficulties with the feed and that you'll try to get my attention as soon as possible so you can fix it."

"But Josie…"

"Tell him George." She told him firmly. "But don't tell him more than that." When he looked unconvinced she softened her tone and added, her eyes begging him to understand. "Please?"

George noticed that Josie had wrapped her hand protectively around Sam's arm and that Sam had placed his other hand over hers. He fought back the smile that wanted to break over his face as he realized what was going on. Secretly thrilled that Josie was finally taking matters into her own hands he only nodded and released an exaggerated sigh of resignation. "Okay, I'll tell him. But I want your 'technical difficulties' cleared up in ten minutes and you back on the air. After all, its Gus who signs the paychecks, not you."

"Thanks, George." Josie gave him a grateful smile.

Reaching over he squeezed her arm and grinned. "You go girl."

As George walked away, Sam turned to Josie and asked in confusion. "What was that all about?"

Josie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was no turning back now. "Mind if we sit? I promise I'll tell you everything."

"Sure." He nodded and led her to a stone bench so they could sit down. Once they were settled he looked at her expectantly. "So, who's George and Gus and what's all this about 'technical difficulties'?"

Josie closed her eyes again for a moment, trying to collect her racing thoughts. When she opened them again she found him looking at her with concern in his beautiful eyes. Swallowing slightly she began. "Before I tell you what's going on, will you promise me something?"

"Anything." He assured her, reaching over to take her hand in his. "Name it."

"Promise me that no matter what your initial reaction is to what I have to say, you'll give me a chance to explain." Her eyes looked into his pleadingly. "Promise me."

His heart sped up when she saw the intensity of emotion in her eyes. "I promise."

Josie put her free hand over the one that held her other hand and took a deep breath. "I'm not a high school student. I'm an undercover reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times."

"A reporter?" Sam repeated in surprise.

Josie nodded and quickly related her history. "I graduated from high school eight years ago, then I attended Northwestern for three years majoring in English Literature and Journalism. I've been working as a copy editor for the Chicago Sun-Times for the last five years, but my greatest goal has always been to be a reporter. I kept pitching story ideas to Gus, he's my editor, hoping to get a chance to prove I could do it. But anytime he liked one of my ideas he always gave it to another reporter. I was beginning to feel that my dream wouldn't come true. Then one day Mr. Rigfort, our publisher, decided that he wanted to do an undercover story on high school kids today and he gave the assignment to me, I guess because I looked young enough to be a high school student. Well, I was excited and terrified all at once. My first high school experience was a nightmare and I was sure that this one would be the same." Seeing the questioning look in Sam's eyes she quickly said. "But that's another story. I promise I'll tell you about it sometime, but not now. Not here." When Sam nodded in agreement she continued her story. "My first few weeks at South Glen South were not much better than my years in high school." She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "Though your class always made my day." He smiled back at her and put his free hand over the one she had placed over his. "After three weeks undercover and no story Gus felt could be used, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He had George set me up with a hidden camera and microphone." She freed one hand and pointed to the wings pin on her dress.

"You've been filming me?" His eyebrows raised in alarm.

Josie nodded her head sadly. "You and everyone else too." Clasping his hand again with her free one she exclaimed adamantly. "I didn't want to and I felt so awful about doing it, but I had no choice. Rigfort had made it very clear that if I botched up this assignment both my job and Gus' were on the line."

"So why are you telling me all this now?" He asked curiously. "Aren't you risking your job by telling me the truth?"

"I had to tell you." She told him, her tone full of emotion. "I wasn't going to let Gus hurt you."

"Why would Gus want to hurt me?" Sam asked in surprise. "I don't even know him."

Josie dropped her eyes down to their hands, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "He thinks that you're attracted to me so he wants to jump on this stupid idea of 'Student/Teacher Relationships – How Close is Too Close?' I told him I wasn't going to do it, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. He's already pitched it to Rigfort who loves the idea. But I won't do it!" She looked back to his face and added firmly. "I'm not going to hurt you like that and I won't let Gus hurt you either. I'll hand in my resignation first!"

Sam was surprised by the intensity of Josie's tone. Examining her face for a moment he finally asked, his tone husky with emotion. "You would quit your job and give up your dream of being a reporter to protect me from your boss?"

"In a heartbeat." Josie whispered truthfully as she squeezed his hands tightly in hers.

Sam flashed her a warm smile. "You are definitely amazing, Josie Geller." When she had first told him that she wasn't a seventeen-year-old high school student but an undercover reporter his first reaction was to be hurt at her deception. But as she revealed the events that led up to her current situation his feelings of hurt soon turned to those of compassion, understanding and then love. He realized that she hadn't wanted to deceive him, it was just the dictates of her job that had been responsible for the charade. And the fact that she was willing to risk her job and her dream to protect him from Gus, his unknown adversary, made him forgive her all the more. Looking deeply into her expectant eyes he commented gently. "I guess there's really only one question left for me to ask." He paused for a moment as she watched him carefully. "How _old_ are you?"

Josie giggled slightly as a wave of relief spread over her. "I'm twenty-five." She informed him.

Sam closed his eyes tightly for a moment as joy and relief spread over him. "Thank you." He whispered softly to himself. When he opened his eyes he found Josie looking at him curiously. Smiling shyly at her he explained his reaction to her answer. "I've been wishing for weeks that you weren't my seventeen year old student but that you were older and more experienced with life." He couldn't help the excited grin that broke over his face as he continued. "Josie, I have been aching for weeks to tell you how much I love you."

"You l-love me?" She stammered in surprised. When he nodded her next words came out choked with sobs as tears sprang into her eyes. "I hoped you would, but I never thought it was possible. I didn't think there was any chance someone as wonderful as you could care for someone like me."

"Someone like you?" He repeated in surprise, finding it incredible that she didn't seem to realize her own wonderful qualities. "Josie, you are the most amazing, intelligent, incredible woman I have ever met. You're smart, you're funny and you are so beautiful that I feel breathless just looking at you."

"Really?" She questioned, still finding it hard to believe that he was really saying these wonderful things about her.

"Really." He assured her. "I'm absolutely crazy about you."

"I love you too." She told him sincerely. "I've loved you from the first day I met you."

Now it was Sam's turn to be surprised. "Really?"

She reached up and touched his cheek tenderly. "Really."

He smiled at her for a moment before leaning forward and gently pressing his lips to hers. Josie responded to his kiss by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back. They were so engrossed in their kiss that they didn't even notice that they were no longer alone.

Rob quickly scanned the courtyard looking for his sister and Mr. Coulson. He'd heard Gibby tell Guy that the two of them had gone outside to get some air and discuss Josie's college application. Knowing that Josie wasn't going to college Rob had a feeling that the conversation probably involved more than just Dartmouth. Quickly he had offered to go find Josie for Guy, leaving the Prom King to dance with Tracie. When his eyes fell upon the kissing pair on the stone bench he was glad that he'd been the one to find them and not Guy.

"Rob!" The young man turned to find George rushing towards him, an anxious look on his face.

"What is it, George?" He asked, concern filling him at the other man's serious look.

"I need you to help me get Josie back on the air." George told him urgently. "Gus said that if her 'technical difficulties' were not cleared up in the next five minutes he is going to come down here himself and fix everything."

"I'll talk to her." Rob promised, then in a somewhat pleading tone he asked. "Please don't tell Gus what's really going on. I don't want him ruining things for Josie. I've never seen her so happy."

George gave him a reassuring smile knowing of Rob's fierce loyalty for his sister. "Don't worry, Slugger. Her secret's safe with me. I happen to be a romantic at heart."

"Thanks, George." Rob gave him a big smile. "We both appreciate it."

"You just get your sister back on tape." Was the other man's parting words.

As the other man moved off Rob turned his attention back to his sister and Mr. Coulson. They were still heavily engrossed in their kiss. Hating to be the one to interrupt them, but knowing that Josie's job was at stake if he didn't, he cleared his throat, trying to alert the couple of his presence. After the third try he finally got Sam's attention. The look on his face when he saw Rob standing beside them was absolutely priceless. It was a look that Rob would tease him about for years to come.

"This is not what it looks like." The English teacher quickly tried to assure Rob, greatly worried about what the other man must be thinking about what he'd just witnessed. "I can explain."

Rob contemplated for a brief second about giving Sam a hard time about kissing his sister, but he decided the wiser course was to reassure the distressed man. After all, it was highly likely he was going to be his brother-in-law one of these days. "It's okay, Mr. C." Rob quickly assured him. "I expected something like this when I came looking for the two of you. That's why I told Guy I'd come find you instead of letting him do it." Looking from Sam's surprised expression to Josie's glowing one he ventured. "I take it he knows the truth." When Josie nodded in confirmation her brother quickly relayed George's message. "We've got to get you back on the air before Gus has a heart attack. George says he's threatening to come down here."

"What are we going to do?" Josie asked him with wide worried eyes.

"We are going to get you back on the air." Rob told her seriously. "And we're going to do it in such a way that Gus isn't going to suspect that you were aware of the problem with the transmission."

"How are we going to do that?" She asked, her eyes filling with more worry. She didn't regret cutting the transmission and telling Sam everything about what's been going on, but she didn't know how she'd ever get away with pretending the 'difficulties' with the feed were real.

Rob thought for a moment, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. Looking at her with dancing eyes he said. "I've got a plan."

"Should I be worried?" She asked, her own lips tugging in knowing expectation.

"Not at all." He assured her innocently. "This is what we'll do. The three of us will go back inside. Mr. Coulson will loose himself in the crowd while you and I hit the dance floor. We'll pretend we're in the middle of a conversation, perhaps 'rehashing' the last few minutes, when your camera will suddenly start to work again. Hopefully our 'recap' will satisfy Gus as to what happened over the last few minutes."

"But when I shut if off, I had just told Mr. Coulson…" She looked at Sam and blushed slightly "…Sam…" He flashed her a warm smile and reached over to squeeze her hand as she continued. "…that I wanted to tell him something."

"Okay, that's no problem." Rob assured her. "We'll say something about Guy cutting in on you just as you were about to tell him about…what were you discussing when you said that you wanted to tell him something?"

"I had just asked Josie if she had given anymore thought to Dartmouth." Sam supplied.

"Perfect." Rob grinned. "Guy interrupted you before you could tell Mr. C. about your college plans." He winked mischievously at her. "Though we know that wasn't what you wanted to tell him."

Josie blushed again at his teasing. "I don't know Rob. I'm so sick of all this lying and deception, pretending to be something I'm not."

"Jos, listen to me." He crouched down beside her and took her free hand in both of his, his eyes searching hers intently. "You are a great writer and you will make one hell of a reporter. All you need is to master this assignment. Don't you want to prove to Gus and Rigfort and all those losers from high school that you can do this, that you can get your story and be a success?"

"Of course I do!" She told him, her eyes tearing up.

"Well then, let's do it!" He gave her shoulder a light punch. "Don't worry, I'm right behind you. I'll help you through this."

"We both will." Sam echoed, squeezing her hand tightly in his.

Josie looked from Rob to Sam, tears dotting her cheeks. "I am so lucky to have you both." She squeezed their hands tightly.

"And I'm lucky to have you." Sam told her earnestly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him for a quick hug. "I love you."

"I love you too." She returned, planting a light kiss on his cheek.

"Come on, Jos, we have to get this show on the road." Rob urged uncomfortably. He hated breaking up his sister and her new love.

When the three of them rose to their feet, Josie turned to her brother and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you too, Rob. You're the greatest."

"Hey, better be careful, Jos, you're going to make Mr. C. jealous." Rob teased as he hugged her tightly back.

Josie smiled and slowly released her brother. Turning to look at Sam she said. "I suppose I should introduce you two properly."

"No, wait, let me guess." Sam stopped her before she could continue. "He's a twenty-five year old undercover reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times."

"Actually I'm only twenty-three." Rob corrected. "And I don't even read the Sun-Times let alone work for them." Holding out his hand to Sam he introduced. "My name is Rob Geller."

"Geller?" Sam raised his eyebrows in confusion and looked at the pair before him. He felt his heart constrict slightly at the news.

Realizing what Sam must be thinking Josie quickly clarified. "My brother."

"Your brother?" Sam's relieved smiled nearly split his face. "He's your brother?"

"For the last twenty-three years." Rob told him proudly as he flung an arm around Josie's shoulders.

"That's what our parents say anyway." Josie teased, shooting her brother a sly look. "Personally I think he was switched at birth."

"Oh Josephine you cut me to the heart." Rob placed a hand over his heart and staggered slightly like he'd been stabbed.

"You nut!" Josie laughed as she slapped his arm playfully.

"Hey, don't hit me!" Rob exclaimed in mock-annoyance. Then with a wicked glint in his eye he threatened. "Or else I'll tell Mr. C. about your high school nickname."

"Rob, don't you dare!" She exclaimed in alarm.

"Well than quit beating up on me and get yourself back on the air before Gus comes down here and skins both our hides." Rob said as he started to usher her towards the country club.

"I thought you weren't scared of Gus." Josie commented, giving him an amused look.

"I'm not – as long as he's on one side of the city and I'm on the other." Rob shuddered slightly and added. "In person that man's scarier than Attila the Hun." Both Sam and Josie laughed at the look on Rob's face as he ushered Josie inside.

"Okay, I want you to start laughing like I'm in the middle of telling you a funny story."

"I can't do that, Rob." Josie exclaimed in despair. "I'm not an actress."

"Come on, Jos." Rob encouraged seriously. "Don't make me get dirty." He emphasized his point by gently poking her in the side. Josie jumped slightly and giggled.

"Don't Rob!" She pushed his hand away from her side.

"Why shouldn't I?" He asked, poking her in the side again. Josie laughed harder, expectation making her giddy as his finger continued to hover at her side. When her laughter became almost hysterical Rob quickly cued. "Turn on the camera and follow my lead." Continue to laugh Josie reached up and turned on the camera. "…and that's not all," Rob started saying as the camera came to life. "After that he…" He leaned forward as if to whisper something in her ear and poked her in the side to make her laugh. Josie let out a boisterous laugh, then reached out and clamped a hand over her mouth. She glanced around to see if anyone had paid attention to her outburst, but all the rest of the crowd seemed to be engrossed in their own partner. The only person she made eye contact with was Sam, who was standing by the dessert table holding a plate with a piece of chocolate cake. It was the piece that she had set down earlier when he'd asked her to dance. She flashed him a bright smile before turning her attention back to what Rob has said.

"He didn't do that!" she exclaimed, managing to sound genuinely shocked.

"Scouts honor!" He said, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Josie rolled her eyes and then changed the subject. "Oh, Rob, this had been such a wonderful night. I can't believe I'm here. It's everything I dreamed my prom would be like."

"I'd say you're the belle of the ball, Josie." Rob commented proudly. "You're the Prom Queen, you're one of the most popular girls here and your dance card has been full all evening. You even have guys fighting over dancing with you." He chuckled slightly. "You should have seen the look on your face when Guy cut in on you and Mr. Coulson. You looked completely surprised. Mr. C. on the other hand looked a little disappointed. What were you two talking about anyway?"

Josie's eyes widened momentarily in panic. The moment had come. She knew she had to sound convincing or else Gus would suspect that something was up. She felt Rob squeeze her hand encouragingly and forced herself to speak. She was surprised at how calm her tone sounded. It completely belied her racing heart. "We were talking about college. He asked me if I had given anymore thought to Dartmouth. I told you that he had gotten me an interview with the admissions guy there." Rob nodded in confirmation. "Well, I was going to tell him that I had decided to try Northwestern so that I could stay close to home and my family. But Guy kind of interrupted us and I didn't get a chance to tell him."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get a chance to tell him." Rob told her confidently. "I'm sure you'll get a chance to tell him everything." Josie's eyes widened and she shook her head at him warningly. But he was undeterred. "I think you two would be good for each other. You both have a lot in common, and I wouldn't mind having him as a brother-in-law."

"Rob…" She warned her eyes flashing nervously.

"Don't worry, sis, I'm not about to blow your cover, and I'm not suggesting you do it either. Gus would likely kill me if I did." Looking right into Josie's camera he grinned and prompted. "Wouldn't you, Gus?" He grinned wider as he pictured Gus replying 'You'd better believe it, Geller'. Turning his attention back to his sister he continued. "I guess I'm just hoping that you'll find happiness one day, and Mr. Coulson seems to make you happy."

"Thanks, Rob." Josie gave him a big smile, her tone a little choked from emotion. "I appreciate that."

"You're my big sister, Jos and I care about you." He admitted honestly. "All I've ever wanted was to see you happy. And if Sam Coulson makes you happy then you should go for it. I only hope he'll understand all this when it's all over."

"Me too." She agreed a little sadly. Taking a deep breath she added, for the benefit of the camera, especially Gus. "He's just so wonderful, Rob! I don't want to loose him if there's any chance that he cares for me too."

"I think he does care for you Josie." Rob replied seriously. "I think he cares for you very much."

"I hope so." She said, then sadly added. "Not that it'll matter in the long run. The story Gus wants me to do has basically ruined any chance I have with him. There's no way he'll forgive me if I create a scandal about him. I just wish I could come up with another story. One that won't hurt and humiliate the man of my dreams. The only man who's ever made me feel special, complete."

"Don't worry, Jos." Her brother comforted kindly. "You'll get through this. We'll think of something."

"You'll help me?" She asked, her tone full of hope.

"Of course I will." He assured her with a bright smile. "We are brother and sister after all. We stick together no matter what."

"Thanks, Rob." As the song ended she put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "You're the greatest brother in the world."

"I know." He teased as he hugged her back, causing her to slap him playfully in the back of the head.

A voice behind them interrupted their embrace. "Hey, Rob! What are you doing with my Queen?" The Geller siblings parted and turned towards Guy and Tracie. Guy slipped his arm around Josie's waist and commented teasingly to Rob. "Get your own girl, this one is already spoken for."

Josie blushed hotly and glanced over to where Sam was still standing by the dessert table watching them. She couldn't help but smile when he caught the jealous look in his eye as he watched her with Guy. The arm around her waist gave her a light squeeze drawing her attention back to her younger companion.

"Want to dance, Beautiful?" Guy asked her warmly. Josie gave him a shy smile and nodded in approval. "Rufus!" He smiled back. He took her hand and turned towards the dance floor. But before taking a step he turned back to Rob and said. "By the way, there's a few of us going down to the lake after Prom to party. You and Tracie are welcome to come if you like. Josie and I are going and most of the group."

Josie looked at Rob, her eyes wide with alarm. There was no way she was going 'partying' at the lake with a bunch of underage teenagers. All that could possibly lead to was trouble with a capital 'T'. But, like always, Rob was on top of things. "That sounds great, Guy, but I'm afraid Josie and I can't make it." At both Guy and Tracie's questioning looks he added. "Our parents are having a small little get-together after the Prom. Nothing elaborate, basically just us and our parents."

"Aw, Rob." Tracie pouted slightly. "Couldn't you guys do that another time? It's Prom night!"

"Wish we could, Trace." Rob lied gallantly. Secretly he couldn't wait to get away from her. "But we promised our folks we'd be home as soon as Prom was over." Noting the disappointed looks on both Guy and Tracie's faces he grinned slightly and suggested. "Why don't you two go to the party together? That way Josie and I can make our plans with our parents and you two still get to go to the party. How does that sound?"

Guy looked at Tracie for a moment than shrugged. "Fine, I guess. At least that way we won't be the only ones without a date. Sound okay to you, Tracie?"

"Sounds fine to me." She agreed eagerly. Then looking at Rob she asked. "How will you get home?"

"Don't worry about us." Rob assured her. "My car's in the parking lot." When he received surprised looks from all three of his companions he explained. "I thought you might have plans after Prom, so I thought I'd bring my car so Josie and I could get home afterwards. I'm not without my resources."

Josie rolled her eyes as Guy started tugging on her hand. "Come, on Beautiful. Let's hit the dance floor." As they moved off Brett approached Tracie and Rob.

"Hey, Robster! Mind if I steal Tracie for a dance of two?"

"Be my guest." Rob replied eagerly as he handed her over to Brett. He watched them go, more than relieved to be devoid of her for a few minutes. He liked Tracie and all, but he knew she liked him far too much for comfort, especially since she was only sixteen and he was twenty-three.

"So, how'd it go?" A voice suddenly asked, causing Rob to jump slightly in surprise.

"Fine." Rob replied, giving Sam an amused smile. "I think we were convincing enough that Gus shouldn't be too suspicious. I just hope Guy doesn't say anything to give us away."

"I'm sure Josie will keep a handle on the conversation." Sam assured him. "She knows what's at stake."

"Yeah, but she's not as good at the deception stuff as I am." Rob said, grinning wickedly at his companion. "She's got too good a conscience."

"Well, I must admit I'm glad to hear it." The older man commented seriously. "I had enough deception and manipulation with my last girlfriend."

"Josie said you two were together for five years." Rob casually remarked. "She must have had come good qualities for you to stay with her for so long."

Sam flushed a little bit and admitted. "I think all her good qualities existed only in my memory." Seeing the expectant look on Rob's face he explained. "When we first met we were in college, life was lighter, easier. Once we graduated and she landed that high power job in New York things changed. She changed. All of a sudden appearances meant a lot to her. She wanted the perfect job, the perfect apartment, the perfect boyfriend…which I wasn't."

"What do you mean?" Rob asked, eyeing him carefully.

"She couldn't understand my love of teaching or my fascination with the written word. She hated my job, my hobbies – almost everything about my life that I hold dear." Sam explained.

"Everything that Josie loves about you." Rob told him honestly.

"Really?" Sam gave him a hopeful look.

Rob nodded in confirmation and watched as a bright smile spread across his face. After a moment he said. "I put in a good word for you." When the other man gave him a puzzled look he explained. "Back on the dance floor when Josie and I were talking, I told her and Gus via camera, that I hoped once all was said and done you would find it in your heart of forgive her for deceiving you." Looking at the other man seriously for a moment he added. "Because I have never seen her as happy as she's been since she met you."

"Really?" Sam looked at him hopefully.

"Really." Rob nodded. Then looking at Sam for another moment he added. "I know I haven't known you very long. In fact I think tonight's the first time we've really talked, but that doesn't mean I haven't been keeping my eyes and ears open." Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise as the younger man continued. "I can tell from what I've learned about you that you're a pretty decent guy. Your students like you, your co-workers like you and your friends really like you."

"You've been talking to my friends?" Sam exclaimed in profound surprise. He hadn't realized that he'd been so thoroughly checked out by the other man.

Rob nodded. "Coach Romano mentioned one day that you and he were good friends, so I asked him a few questions about you, nothing really personal, mostly just general stuff." He grinned at him and added. "Seems that you're quite well liked by most everyone you know." His eyes twinkled slightly as he added. "Your ex-girlfriend on the other hand…"

Sam flushed again in embarrassment and acknowledged. "There never was much love lost between Lara and my friends. I guess because they saw all along what I just started seeing recently. Actually, I guess in a lot of ways I owe Josie for that. She's the one that opened my eyes and made me realize that it is possible to have a relationship where two people share the same interests. That daily fighting isn't part of a normal relationship."

Rob regarded him carefully for a moment. "I love my sister, Mr. C. She means a lot to me. I don't want to see her get hurt."

Sam met Rob's serious look confidently. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt her, Rob. You have my word on that. She's a very special girl and I have nothing but the highest respect for her. I care about her very much."

Rob smiled reassuringly at him. "I can see that you do. But just promise me one thing."

"Anything." Sam quickly vowed.

"Take things slow and easy with Josie." Her brother urged. "She's only fallen for one guy before you and he hurt her very badly." At Sam's concerned look he continued. "It was many years ago, she was a Senior in High School, but its caused Josie to have serious doubts about herself where guys are concerned. She's afraid of being hurt again."

"What did this guy do to her?" Sam asked anxiously, his eyes suddenly widening in fear. "He didn't _hurt_ her, did he?"

Rob, understanding what he meant, quickly shook his head. "He didn't hurt her physically, just emotionally. But don't worry, _his_ pain was a lot more physical when I got through with him." When Sam's eyebrows shot up questioningly he added. "Let's just say he spent the rest of the summer drinking his meals through a straw."

The other man chuckled in amusement and clasped the younger man on the shoulder. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

"Hey, you keep making Josie happy and you and me will get along just fine. " Rob assured him.

Sam watched Josie and Guy as they moved slowly around the dance floor. "Rob, I promise to spend the rest of my life making Josie happy."

"That's just fine with me, Mr. C." Rob grinned widely. "I think you'd make a pretty cool brother-in-law."

Sam smiled at him and returned. "I think you would too, Rob."

They watched the dancing couple for a few more moments than Rob asked suddenly. "You doing anything tomorrow?"

Sam glanced at his new friend and asked. "What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing major." The dark-haired man told him. "I was just wondering if you'd like to join Josie and me and our parents for a barbecue tomorrow afternoon. Dad loves showing off his barbecuing skills for new guests and Mom has been dying to meet you for weeks now. She keeps trying to come up with some new excuse to go down to the school and meet you. So far I've managed to stop her, but I think her curiosity is getting the better of her. I many not be able to hold her off much longer."

Sam laughed in amusement as his hart started beating a little faster. Josie must have been talking about him to her mother for the other woman to be so adamant about wanting to meet him. "Well, I guess I should put her out of her misery than, shouldn't I? I'd love to come for a barbecue."

"Great!" Rob exclaimed eagerly. "Josie will be pleased. And I must say I'm looking forward to getting to know you a bit better myself."

"I thought that you already knew everything there was to know about me." Sam teased lightly. He knew he should be a little miffed at Rob's prodding into his personal life, but he wasn't. In fact he was rather impressed that the young man cared enough about his sister's welfare that he would do some checking on a perspective love interest.

"Not _everything_." Rob defended. "Just a few things. Enough to know that you'd be great for my sister. You two have a lot in common."

Sam grinned happily at that and mused. "Maybe Josie and I can come to the barbecue together."

"You'll have to arrange that with Josie." The other man told him. "I don't know what her plans are for tomorrow."

"That maybe a little tricky." Sam commented a little sadly. "What with her camera and everything."

"You leave that to me, Mr. C." Rob's dark eyes sparkled as his mind formulated a plan. "Meanwhile why don't you grab my sister for a dance."

"Do you think that would be all right?" Josie's admirer asked hopefully.

"Sure, why not." Rob shrugged non-chelantly. Then with mischievous eyes he added. "Especially since Guy so rudely cut in on you two just as Josie was about to tell you something important about Dartmouth."

Sam chuckled slightly and nodded in understanding. "Yes, that was rude of him wasn't it?" The two men laughed and parted company, Rob going to work the room and Sam to find Josie. Once again he found her at the dessert table, attempting for the second time to eat a piece of chocolate cake. "Hello again." He greeted as he came up beside her.

Josie smiled at him and self-consciously wiped at her face. "Hi."

"Enjoying your evening so far?" He asked, trying hard to keep his tone light and steady. Now that he knew the truth about her, that she wasn't his seventeen year old student, but a twenty-five year old woman who was just as crazy about him as he was about her, he was finding it even harder to act calm and natural around her. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and kiss her senseless.

"It's been wonderful." She told him sincerely. "The decorations, the costumes, the music – they're all wonderful." Her eyes told him that wasn't all that she found wonderful about the evening.

"I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself." He told her warmly. Then after a brief pause he added. "I was just wondering if you'd mind finishing the dance we started earlier." When she looked at him puzzled he smiled and cued. "You know, before Guy cut in and interrupted us."

She gave him a look of surprise, a slow smile creeping up her face. He'd obviously been talking to Rob. "That would be nice." She told him sincerely, her eyes revealing the deep feelings she had for him since she couldn't voice those feelings aloud.

Reading what her eyes were trying to tell him he gave her a warm smile and took her hand to lead her to the dance floor. This time as they danced he dared to hold her a little tighter and lace their fingers together. Josie flashed him a tender smile as he squeezed her hand tightly. "So what were you going to tell me about Dartmouth?"

Josie's eyes widened slightly in alarm, but she quickly regained her composure when he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Taking a deep breath to steady her voice she replied. "What I wanted to tell you was that I really appreciate your kind offer, but I was thinking maybe I'll just apply to Northwestern. That way I'll be able to stay with my family."

"But you are going to go to college?" He pressed, trying his best to keep the conversation on a teacher-student level. "I think you owe it to yourself. I really think you could make it as a writer."

Josie gave him such a love filled look that it took all of Sam's self-control to keep from pulling her into his arms and kissing her. "Nobody has ever encouraged me in my writing like you have. You have been a real inspiration to me and I don't know how to thank you."

He gave his trademark smile and said lightly. "I'll think of something." Josie blushed slightly at his comment, imagining all the things she'd be quite willing to do to thank him. "How about you dedicate your first book to me and we'll call it even."

Josie grinned slightly, knowing that comment was strictly for the camera's sake. "It's a deal." She told him, then she mouthed very carefully so he'd understand. "I love you."

Sam's smile nearly split his face as he replied, trying hard to keep his tone in check. "Wonderful!"

"Oh, Rob this night has been everything I dreamed _my_ Prom would be!" Josie exclaimed to her brother as they drove down one of Chicago's busy streets later that night. "Everything was so wonderful – the costumes, the decorations, the food. And I was crowned Prom Queen! Me, Josie Grossie – Prom Queen!"

"Hey, I keep telling you, you're not Josie Grossie anymore." Rob said seriously. "You are a wonderful, beautiful, intelligent woman who happens to look very sexy in that dress."

"Really?" Josie blushed at the compliment.

"Really." He nodded in confirmation. "You've changed so much in the last couple months. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Rob." She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I never could have done it without you."

"My pleasure." He gave her a bright smile. "I just wished I had done this eight years ago when we were still in high school. Maybe Billy Prince would have invited you for real."

Josie's happiness dimmed slightly as she remembered her first Prom. "Maybe." She murmured sadly.

"Hey, you wanna go and get some coffee before we go home?" He asked as he pulled the car to a stop at a traffic light. "I know this nice little place down the street."

"That sounds nice." Josie replied then giggled when she looked down at his bare legs. "You know, Rob, I know most restaurants only have signs that read 'Shirts Must Be Worn', but I think that's probably because they figure that pants are a given."

"Are you kidding? Any waitress would die to see these sexy legs." He retorted, pretending to be insulted at her comment. When Josie rolled her eyes he added. "Don't worry, I have a pair of pants in the back."

"Let's just hope we don't get pulled over between here and the coffee shop." She remarked as she shook her head slightly. "You'll have quite a time explaining why you're pants are in the back seat to a police officer."

"I'll just tell him that you're my Prom date and you couldn't keep your hands off me…OW!" He yelped when she hit him in the arm. "Take it easy will you! I'm driving here and I'd like to get us back home in one piece."

Josie just laughed and turned her attention to the traffic outside as the light turned green and Rob drove through the intersection. "I never did ask you how your car…" She looked back at him and corrected. "…_My_ car got to the school."

"I drove it over earlier." Rob explained. "I caught wind that Guy and some of the other cool kids were going to continue partying after the Prom and I figured they'd want us to come too." He looked at her and said. "Well to us that could only spell trouble with a capital 'T', so I brought the car over earlier this afternoon so we could make a get-away if we had to."

"I'm glad you did." She admitted. "I could only imagine what could have happened if the party had gotten out of hand and we were found with a bunch of underage kids, who would no doubt have been drunk. Not a good idea."

"I agree." He echoed. "I don't intend to spend the next five years of my life in jail for 'influencing' a minor."

"Me neither." She agreed. "I don't think that would do much for my career, such as it is."

"Don't worry, Jos." He reached over and gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. "Everything will work out. Mr. C.'s a cool guy, I'm sure he'll understand everything once this is all over."

Josie looked at Rob and sighed. "How can he after I ruin his career? I can't do it, Rob. I can't! But I don't know what I'm going to do about it. Gus won't yield. He smells blood and he's ready to go in for the kill."

"And you're the bait." Rob commented sympathetically.

"Yeah, I'm the bait." She sighed. "He's using me to incriminate a man that I am hopelessly in love with and would give anything to have love me, but at the same time if he does love me than I have to ruin his life. Sounds fair don't it. Either way one or both of us gets our heart broken."

Rob reached over and brought his sister closer to him, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders. She laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled comfortably against him. "Don't worry, Jos." He assured her lovingly. "We'll think of something." He kissed the side of her head and turned his attention back to the road. After a couple of minutes he spoke again. "Hey, Josie, can you do me a favor?"

"What kind of favor?" She asked, but didn't lift her head from his shoulder.

"Can you maybe loose the camera?" He requested seriously. "I mean Prom's over, its after midnight meaning its now Saturday and frankly I'm tired of Gus and all your co-workers watching my every move."

"I guess you're right." She agreed as she sat back up in her seat. "I am basically 'off-duty' for the weekend." Undoing the wings pin she held it up so Gus and everyone else got a close up of Rob. "Say goodnight, Rob."

"'Goodnight, Rob'." He said into the camera, flashing everyone at the Chicago Sun-Times a cheesy grin.

Josie laughed and then turned the camera towards herself. In a cheery tone she said. "Nigh everyone. Thanks for watching." The she clicked the camera off and slipped it into her bag.

"Here we are." Rob announced as he pulled the car to a halt in front of a quaint little coffee shop.

Josie looked up and noticed the 'NO PARKING' sign posted beside them. "Rob, you can't park here. It's a 'No Parking' zone."

"I wasn't planning on parking here." He told her mysteriously. When she gave him a puzzled look he added. "I plan on parking in the driveway at home."

"But I thought we were going for coffee." She commented, her brow furrowing deeper in puzzlement.

"'We' are." He said with a sly smile. "But 'we' is not _you and me_, it's _you and him_." Josie looked out her window when Rob pointed to something behind her. There, standing on the sidewalk with a lone rose in his hand, was Sam.

Josie smiled warmly as he opened the car door and held out a hand to help her out. "Good evening, Miss Geller." He greeted with a charming smile.

"Good evening, Mr. Coulson." She returned as she allowed him to pull her to her feet. "Fancy meeting you here."

"For you." He handed her the rose he held.

Josie accepted it and buried her nose in its fragrant petals. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

"Shall we?" He gestured towards the coffee shop.

"I'd love to." She nodded. Then turning back to Rob she leaned through the window and said. "Thanks for the ride, Rob. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

"Have a good time, Jos, Mr. C." He called back.

Sam looked at Rob through the open window and said. "See you tomorrow, Rob. And thanks for everything."

Seeing the intense feeling in Sam's eyes when he looked at his sister Rob smiled warmly and acknowledged. "My pleasure. You two kids have a good time." Then putting the car in gear he squealed the tires of Josie's Buick and headed off into the night.

"My poor car!" Josie cringed as her brother and her car turned the next corner.

"Your car?" Sam smiled in confusion. "I thought that yellow car was yours."

"Actually that yellow boat belongs to Rob." She gestured down the street adding. "That was my car that my brother just went screaming into the night with. I traded cars with him when I first began this assignment because I thought his car looked more like something a teenager would drive than mine."

Sam laughed. "Well, you got a point there." Then reaching out he took her hand and gently pulled her towards the coffee shop. "Come on, let's get some coffee and you can tell me all about Josie Geller, undercover reporter." With a bright smile she nodded her head in agreement.

"…And then Rob starts tumbling head over heels down the side of the mountain! I thought for sure he'd killed himself." She shuddered slightly at the memory. "I still can't believe I let him talk me into skiing Dead Man's Curve. I was sure we'd never get back down again alive. But we did, and I lived to bury Rob face first in a snow bank for scaring me like he did."

Sam smiled and remarked. "You two sound very close."

"We are." She nodded. "He has helped me out a lot the last few years. I don't know what I would have done without him – or my parents. They've all been great. But Rob's been the best. He's one of the best friends I've ever had. I couldn't ask for a nicer, more supportive brother."

"Or a more protective one." Sam smirked in amusement.

"What do you mean?" Josie looked at him expectantly.

Sam continued to chuckle as he explained his amusement. "Rob informed me tonight that he's been 'checking' me out."

"What do you me he's been 'checking' you out?" Josie asked suspiciously.

"I mean that Rob's invented his own 'Are You Eligible To Date Josie' test." Sam told her, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"What did he do?" She asked warily.

"Nothing bad." Sam quickly assured her. He just gave Scott Romano the third degree about me, that's all."

"Scott Romano? You mean Coach Romano?" Josie gave him a surprised look. When Sam nodded she asked. "Why?"

"Rob found out that Scott and I are good friends, so he decided to see what kind of a guy I am." Sam explained, his eyes still twinkling with amusement. "Guess he wanted to find out just what my friends thought about me. Get an idea of what kind of guy was interested in his big sister."

Josie rolled her eyes and groaned fiercely. "I'm sorry about that. He had no right to be so nosy."

"Sure he did." He assured her seriously. "He loves you and he wanted to make sure that you weren't going to get hurt. You are his big sister after all. And I don't mind, really. I have nothing to hide. My life is an open book, especially to you."

She flushed slightly but gave him a bright smile. "I want you to know everything about me too."

"Good." He reached over and squeezed her hand lovingly. "Because I want to know everything there is to know about you." He paused for a moment before prompting. "Like what was so dreadful about your first High School experience that made you dread coming to South Glen South." Josie paled slightly and dropped her eyes to her plate. Reaching over, Sam put a finger under her chin and lifted it so she would look at him. "Hey, its okay. You don't have to be afraid. And you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I shouldn't have been so nosy. I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. Really." She assured him, giving his hand a warm squeeze. "I want you to know about it. It's just not a time of my life I'm particularly proud or fond of. In fact, I don't usually talk about my high school experience, especially my Senior year."

"What happened?" He pressed, squeezing her hand encouragingly.

She gave him a brief smile before replying. "All through High School, all through school really, I was a real nerd. I had braces, long stringy hair, a face full of pimples – the complete nerdy look. And I also had brains, and I wasn't afraid to use them. I spent most of my spare time doing extra homework I requested from the teacher."

Sam smiled teasingly. "So that's why you did so much extra work for me. I thought it was because you liked me."

"I did! I do!" She flushed as she amended. "I only wrote extra work for you. I guess it was my way of reaching out to you, of letting you know little things about myself that I couldn't tell you out loud."

"And I treasured each and everything that you wrote." He gave her a loving smile as he admitted. "I use to keep yours till the last so I could devote my complete and undivided attention to what it said. I'd commit every detail to memory. In fact I treasured your writings so much that I made a copy of each and every one of them and placed them in a special folder in my briefcase that was only for your work. I guess it was my way of keeping a part of you with me at all times. Sometimes at night when I couldn't stop thinking about you, I'd pull them out and read them over and over again. I think I could probably recite each and every one of them."

"Oh, Sam." She gave him such a loving look that Sam felt his heart start to race wildly. "That has to be the sweetest thing that anyone has ever done for me." Tears sprang into her eyes and she closed them, trying desperately to hold the tears back.

"Hey, what is it?" He asked as he reached over and gently brushed a stray tear form her cheek.

Opening her eyes she looked at him and admitted. "I never thought I'd ever find anybody who'd love me so much that something as simple as my writing would mean that much to them."

"Josie, everything about you means a lot to me." He told her seriously. "I have memorized every detail that I could about you. I remember every word you've ever said, every look you've ever given me, every outfit you've ever worn since the first day I set eyes on you in my classroom." A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth and his eyes started to twinkle as he teased. "I especially liked that white shirt with the white boa around the neck."

Josie groaned and hid her face in her hands. "I still have to kill Anita for picking out that outfit. I didn't realize what a sick, twisted sense of humor she had."

"Who's Anita?" Sam asked curiously.

"She's my best friend." Josie told him. "We work together at the Sun-Times. She's in Classifieds." Then with a slight giggle she added. "You probably know her better as 'Pam Kitterman'."

"Pam Kitterman?" He exclaimed in surprise. "You mean Pam Kitterman from the Sex-Ed lecture?"

"That's her." Josie smiled awaiting his reaction.

He gave her an amused smirk. "I wondered why you two seemed to know each other." He shook his head. "I hope none of the other teachers hear about this."

"You won't get in trouble will you?" Josie asked in alarm. "Anita didn't mean any harm. She was basically just in the wrong place at the right time."

"And since I was so desperate for someone – _anyone_ – to come and take that lecture I readily assumed that Anita was Pam." He chuckled at himself and at how petrified he'd been that day. There was no way he'd have been able to give that lecture if Anita hadn't shown up and rescued him. He briefly wondered what happened to the real Pam Kitterman. "Remind me to thank her sometime."

Josie couldn't help but smile at the humor in the situation, but her eyes still held concern. "You won't get in trouble will you?"

He smiled ruefully and shook his head. "No parents complained so I won't get in trouble. It's more like I'll never live it down. Scott and Adam Christiansen will laugh me into next week if they find out."

"Well, I guess it'll just have to be our little secret then won't it." She gave him a bright smile.

Sam gave her a warm smile in return and then brought the conversation back to their original topic. "So what happened your Senior year of high school?"

Josie's smile dimmed slightly as she continued her story. "During my Senior year I developed a crush on one of the 'popular' boys in my class." She blushed slightly. "I guess I kind of made a fool of myself over him. One time in English class the teacher asked me to read my work assignment in front of the class. We had been assigned to write a poem. The poem that I wrote had been about him." She blushed deeper as she admitted. "I thought for sure that it would make him like me. My biggest wish in high school was that I was the most popular girl in school and that _he_ would ask me to the Prom."

"What happened?" Sam pressed gently, watching the different emotions playing across her beautiful face.

"He asked me." She replied, her tone very controlled. Sam encouraged her with his eyes to continue. There was a slight catch in her voice as she related. "So I got myself a beautiful dress, at least I thought it was beautiful at the time. I did my hair and make up and I got all ready for the Prom. But things didn't go exactly as I'd hoped." She looked into Sam's concerned face and continued. "As I stepped outside the house, the limo came down the street and my dream date appeared out the sunroof…and so did a beautiful cheerleader." Sam's brow furrowed and his grip on her hand tightened as she said. "The next thing I knew he was pelting me with eggs and taunting me to write a poem about it. Then he called me a geek."

"Oh, Josie." Sam felt his heart almost break as he imagined the depth of her pain and humiliation that night.

"I spent most of the evening in the bushes beside the house because I didn't want Rob or my parents to know what had happened." Tears fell down her cheeks as she looked into Sam's concerned eyes. They were so filled with sympathy and love that Josie's words started coming out in sobs. Sam moved around the table and slid into the booth beside her, wrapping his arms around her. Finding solace in his embrace, Josie managed to continue her story. "After a couple of hours Rob spotted me from his bedroom window and come out and got me. Heartbroken, I told him the whole story. The next day Rob found him and confronted him for what he did to me. I guess Rob messed him up pretty good."

"Yeah, Rob told me that the guy was pretty much drinking his meals through a straw for the rest of the summer." Sam grinned in spiteful glee. "Serves him right too!"

Josie looked at him with wide eyes. "Rob already told you this story?"

Sam quickly shook his head and assured her. "All he told me was that you'd been hurt by some guy that you really liked and that Rob had beaten him up because of it." He grinned slightly as he said. "I think it was Rob's subtle way of warning me that if I ever did anything to hurt you he'd make sure I answered for it."

Josie couldn't help but giggle at the thought of Rob beating up on mild mannered Sam Coulson. "He does try to protect me."

"And so he should." Sam gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. "He's a lucky guy to have you as his sister. Just like I would be a lucky guy to have you as a girlfriend."

Josie's eyes widened as she repeated in surprise. "Girlfriend?"

Sam chuckled slightly at her expression and asked teasingly. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, no, of course not." Josie quickly assured him. "I just never thought I'd ever hear you say that to me. I've dreamed it many times, but I never felt that I was ever good enough to be your girlfriend."

Sam smiled tenderly at her and reached up to push a loose piece of hair off her forehead. "Josie Geller, I don't just want you to be my girlfriend. One of these days, in the not too distant future I hope, I want you to be my wife. I want to be able to have you in my life forever. To wake up beside you every morning and to fall asleep with you in my arms every night."

"Oh, Sam." She leaned into him and buried her face into his chest as tears continued to fall down her cheeks.

Hugging her tightly to him he pressed kisses into her hair before venturing to ask. "Does that sound like a future that would interest you?" Pulling back to look at his face she blinked a couple of times, trying to clear the tears from her eyes before shyly nodding her head in response. Sam's face broke into a wide grin as he admonished. "Remember that answer. I'll come in handy one day."

Josie giggled slightly as more tears began to flow. Throwing her arms around his neck she hugged him tightly. Sam couldn't help but echo her feelings when he heard her whisper softly. "If this is a dream, please, please don't ever let me wake up."

"Well, here we are." Josie said as she indicated for Sam to pull into the space behind Bambi. "Welcome to my humble neighborhood.

Sam looked up at the quaint looking building and smiled. It was just the type of place that he'd pictured her living in. "I like it." He told her honestly. "It suits you."

Josie smiled brightly at him and blushed. "Want to see the inside?" She invited innocently.

Sam smiled at her warmly but declined. "I should probably be getting home." Glancing at the clock on his dashboard he chuckled slightly and said. "It's already after two-thirty."

Josie looked at the clock, her eyes widening in alarm as she read 2:37. "Oh, my! I'm sorry for keeping you out so late! I didn't realize the time!"

Sam laughed slightly and reached out to grab her hand. After bringing it to his lips and kissing it he said. "Don't apologize. There isn't anyplace one earth I'd rather be right now than with my beautiful girlfriend."

"Girlfriend." Josie closed her eyes dreamily as she repeated the delightful word under her breath. She still couldn't believe that she was Sam Coulson's girlfriend. All her dreams of the past two months were suddenly coming true. She'd even gotten her first kiss, a kiss so tender and so full of love that it more than fulfilled all her expectations and fantasies. When Sam kissed her, there was nothing in the world but the two of them. Opening her eyes she looked at him warmly for a moment. "There's something I think I should tell you."

Sam felt his pulse start to race nervously at her words. "Please don't tell me you've changed your mind and you just want to be friends."

Seeing the worry in his face she couldn't help but smile slightly at his obvious concern. To think that she had that much influence on his happiness was enough to take her breath away. Reaching a tentative hand up to touch his face she quickly assured him. "Of course I want to be your girlfriend. I love you very much." She watched his expression relax as she continued. "What I wanted to tell you was that…" She paused for a moment as a warm flush stained her cheeks. "You know that first kiss we shared? The one on the stone bench outside Prom?" Sam nodded eagerly. He didn't think he'd ever forget that kiss. It had been a kiss he'd been dreaming of and wishing for for weeks. "Well, that wasn't just _our_ first kiss…that was _my_ first kiss, too." She looked up to see shock filling his eyes. She squirmed slightly in her seat, not sure what to make of his expression.

Finally Sam found his voice. "I'm the first guy you've ever kissed?"

Completely embarrassed Josie dropped her eyes to her lap and in a cracking voice hastened to explain. "I've always believed that there is someone that you're 'meant to be' with. And I didn't want to go kissing a whole bunch of guys to try to find my one special guy, someone that I would want to spend the rest of my life with. He would be someone that I could share anything with, who would love me for who I am, not for who they wanted me to be. Someone who would never, ever do anything to hurt me. I figured if I ever met him, I'd know it and then, and only then, would I finally get my kiss. And he would be the one I'd kiss for the rest of my life."

When Josie finished her monologue, Sam reached over and lifted her chin to make her look at him. Giving her the most loving, tender look that she had ever received in her life he said. "Do you have any idea how much that means to me?" When Josie's eyes searched his face for a moment he continued. "It is like a special gift that you have reserved for only me." He paused for a minute before whispering huskily. "Thank you."

With tears in her eyes she whispered back. "You're welcome."

Leaning in he placed a soft kiss on her lips and then pulled her in for a warm hug. "I love you, Josie Geller. I'll love you forever."

"I love you too, Sam." She whispered back.

They pulled back after a few moments and Sam asked. "So, do you want me to pick you up tomorrow afternoon or should I just meet you at your parents?"

"I think I'll just meet you there, if you don't mind." She replied seriously. Jabbing a finger at the car in front of them she explained. "I want to return that monstrosity to Rob and get my car back before he totals it or something."

"I noticed he redecorated it." Sam commented. "At least I'm assuming you didn't have that _lovely_ detailing done yourself."

Josie rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly. "Certainly not. But that's what I get for telling him he could do whatever he liked with it if he'd loan me his car. But he's promised me that he'll have it fixed up by tomorrow night." Giving Sam a skeptical look she added. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"You're brother sounds a lot like mine." Sam commented with a laugh. "A little irresponsible, but with a heart of gold."

Josie looked at him curiously. "How many brothers and sisters do you have?"

"I have one of each." He replied. "An older sister named Abigail and a younger brother named Russell. Abby's about three years older than me and Russ is about three years younger."

"And how old are you?" She inquired.

Sam smiled. "I'll be twenty-seven in August."

Josie returned his smile with one of her own. "So we're fourteen months apart. I'll be twenty-six in October."

"Sure beats nine years." He told her seriously as he reached over and touched her face gently. "I can't tell you what a relief it is to know that you're really my age and not seventeen. Even though I was quite ready and willing to pursue a relationship with you if you were interested, I still couldn't help but view the age difference as a problem."

"Because I was your student?" She asked curiously.

"Not just that, though that was one of my major hang ups." He admitted. He ran his fingers over the side of her head, rubbing some of the loose wisps of hair between his fingers gently. "But I was more concerned that because you were so young, that whatever feelings you might have for me now might change in a few months or years. I wasn't sure if you were old enough to know your heart yet and that I might just be setting myself up for heartache because I knew I wanted more than just a few months or years. I wanted a lifetime."

"Oh, Sam." Tears returned to Josie's emotion-filled eyes. "I am so sorry for having deceived you. I never meant to cause you so much pain. When I first started here I didn't think my presence would have much effect on anyone. I certainly didn't affect too many people's lives when I was in high school the first time, except maybe to give them somebody to torture."

"Didn't you have any friends in school?" He asked with concern. He couldn't imagine her going through high school completely friendless. She must have caught the attention of someone.

"I did have one good friend, Sheila Davis." Josie replied. "She and I had been close friends since grade school. But after high school we both kind of lost touch. I went to Northwestern, she went to NYU and we've never seen each other again. I feel kind of bad about it, but I guess these things happen. It's hard to keep track of people once school's over."

"It's hard." Sam agreed. "But not impossible."

"Don't tell me you still know your best friend from high school?" She looked at him with surprise.

"Yup." He nodded. "In fact I've had the same best friend since grade one. His name is Jonathan Harper and he and his wife, Joanne and I have known each other for over twenty-years."

"That's great." Josie told him sincerely, secretly wishing she could boast the same thing about Sheila. There were times that she deeply regretted not staying in touch with her old friend. But she had no idea where to go about looking for her now. "How about you, Russ and Abby? Are you guys close too?"

Sam nodded. "We're very close, just like you and Rob. They're two of my closest friends. In fact Abby is my confidant. There isn't anything that I don't tell her."

"Have you told her about me?" Josie asked curiously.

"Anything except about you." He told her honestly than hastened to explain. "But that's only because…"

"Because you thought you were falling for one of your seventeen year old students and you didn't want to admit it to yourself let alone anyone else." Josie finished for him.

"That's very perceptive of you, Miss Geller." He gave her an amused smile.

"I am supposed to be a reporter." She commented lightly. Then with a sigh she added. "Though I'm obviously not a very good one."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short." He scolded her seriously. "You are a wonderful writer and you will make a wonderful reporter. Like I told you yesterday, all you have to do is find your story."

"Thanks, Sam." She gave him a grateful smile. "I can't begin to tell you how much your vote of confidence means to me. Nobody, except for my family, has ever believed in me the way that you do."

"I love you." He told her sincerely.

"I love you, too." She returned and allowed him to pull her in for another tender kiss. When they parted she regretfully said. "I guess I should go inside. It's almost three o'clock now." They both glanced at the dashboard clock which now read '2:57'. "I had a wonderful time. Thank you for a terrific evening."

"Thank you for making it a terrific evening." He smiled lovingly at her. "And thank you for telling me the truth about yourself. This evening turned out even better than I had hoped."

"Me too." She echoed.

"So I'll see you at your parents' tomorrow afternoon. What time?"

Josie shrugged. "I'm going over around three, so any time after that would be fine. You have the address?"

He patted the breast pocket of his tuxedo where the piece of paper she'd given him with the address rested. "Got it right here close to my heart." Josie smiled at him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

As she opened the door he quickly grabbed her arm and said lightly. "Don't I get a good night kiss?"

Josie looked at him and grinned slightly. "I guess I could give you one before I go." Leaning over she met him halfway for one of the sweetest, most loving kisses they'd shared yet.

"Goodnight, sweetheart." He whispered as they separated.

Josie blushed with pleasure at the endearment. "Goodnight, Sam." As she watched Sam's black Volkswagen drive off down the street she whispered pleadingly to herself. "Please don't let this be a dream."


	2. Chapter 2

It was a little after three thirty when Sam unlocked the door of his apartment and stepped through the doorway. After dropping his keys on the table and shrugging out of his jacket he grabbed the portable phone and flopped down in his favorite leather chair. Dialing the familiar phone number he waited patiently for a reply.

After about five rings a groggy voice replied. "Hello?"

"Hey Abby." Sam greeted cheerfully. "How you doing?"

"Sam?" Abby's confusion was evident in her voice.

"Yeah, its me." He chuckled with amusement. "Did I wake you?"

"What time is it?" He heard her fumble for the clock beside her bed and then moaned when she read the time. "Sam, it's after one-thirty in the morning."

"I know it's late." He acknowledged repentantly. "I just couldn't wait to tell you my news."

"What news?" His sister asked, her question was punctuated by a yawn.

"Abby, I'm in love." He told her seriously.

Abby's ears perked up at his announcement. "Something tells me that Lara is not the object of your affection."

Sam smiled and quickly informed her. "Lara and I broke up last week."

"Thank you." Abby whispered in a barely audible tone. Then in a more normal voice she ribbed. "You certainly didn't waste anytime finding somebody new. I kept telling you there was more fish in the sea."

Sam blushed slightly and admitted. "Actually, I knew her before I broke up with Lara."

"Oh, this is getting better and better." Abby said as she sat up in bed, settling in to get all the details on her little brother's new love. "So was she the reason you and Lara split up?"

"Yes and no." Sam replied somewhat cryptically.

"Meaning?" Abby pressed.

"Meaning she was part of the reason, but not the whole reason." He clarified. "I had already been thinking about breaking up with Lara, but I just couldn't make myself do it. I knew I didn't want to move to New York and give up my life in Chicago, but I kept telling myself that five years was a long time and that maybe I should give it a chance. But then I met Josie and I realized that I didn't want to give Lara and I a chance in New York. What I wanted was right here in Chicago. So, that's when I finally told Lara it was over."

"And how did Princess Lara handle that?" Abby asked curiously.

"Surprisingly well." He admitted. "In fact she said that she was beginning to wonder if there was much of a future for us too since I was being so stubborn about moving to New York. Believe it or not we actually parted on somewhat good terms. I'm not saying we're going to be best buddies or anything, but I think we can at least have a civil relationship if nothing else."

"Well, I'm glad she's out of the picture." His sister told him seriously. "She wasn't right for you. She was too stuck up and bossy. You need somebody sweeter and kinder. Someone more like you."

"Well, I think I've found her." Sam told his sister seriously.

"So tell me about her." She prompted eagerly. "What did you say her name was? Josie? What's she like? Where did you meet her? How long have you known her? Was it love at first sight?"

Sam laughed in amusement at her barrage of questions and set about patiently answering them. "Her name is Josie Geller. She's an up and coming reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times and she is the most amazing woman I have ever met. She's smart, she's funny and she is _so_ talented. I just love reading her assignments. When I'm doing my correcting, I always leave her work to the last so that I can give her writing my undivided attention."

"Correcting?" His sister repeated in confusion. "If she's a reporter for the Sun-Times, why are you correcting her work? Wouldn't they have copy editors to do that?"

Sam smiled and said "Maybe I'd better start at the beginning." For the next twenty minutes Sam filled his sister in on everything that he knew about Josie and about his feelings. Abby listened with rapped attention, feeling instinctively that this was definitely the right girl for her younger brother.

"She sounds wonderful, Sam." Abby commented when he had finished. "When do I get to meet her?"

"I was thinking of seeing if she'd be willing to come with me to Mom and Dad's the holiday weekend in July." He told her eagerly. "Do you think you, Bill and Emma will be able to meet us there?"

"Actually, we've already made plans to be at Mom and Dad's that weekend." Abby told him excitedly. "We figured we'd arrive on Friday and stay until Monday. Bill has to be back to work on Tuesday."

"That sounds great!" Sam exclaimed delightedly. "I can't wait for you all to meet Josie. I just know that you're going to love her!"

"If you love her, than I'll love her." His sister assured him sincerely.

"You didn't feel that way about Lara." He commented teasingly.

"Neither did you." She stated matter-of-factly.

"You're right." He surprised her by saying. "I didn't. I'm just glad that I realized it before I did something stupid like marry her."

"Me too." Her sister said seriously. "You're a great guy, Sam. You deserve much better than that witch, Lara. She didn't appreciate you for who you are, all she wanted to do was change you to suit her ideals. But this Josie of yours sounds different. She sounds sweet and caring and just perfect for you. I'm glad you found each other, and I'm glad that she's not really your seventeen year old student."

"Me too." He echoed wholeheartedly. "I've been feeling like such a horrible person these last few weeks believing that I've been in love with one of my students. I can't begin to express my relief when she told me the truth tonight. I almost felt like I must be dreaming again since my deepest wish had come true. Josie is twenty-five years old and as deeply in love with me as I am with her. At this moment my life couldn't be better."

"So when's the wedding?" She teased lightly, knowing her little brother wasn't about to let Josie go now that he'd found her.

"That is in my plans." He admitted, blushing slightly as he said it. "But I don't want to rush her. This is her first real relationship and I don't want her to feel pressured. I want her to enjoy it, to realize that there is someone besides her family who cares about her and about her welfare. She's been hurt badly in the past and I want her to know that she can trust me not to do the same thing to her."

"She sounds like a very sensitive person." Abby remarked perceptively.

"She is." He agreed. "She can be very sensitive, but it's part of her charm."

"Boy, you are in love." His sister laughed teasingly, feeling a great relief flood over her. She'd been so worried about her little brother and the loveless relationship he had with Lara. She knew that there was someone better out there for him, but she was having a hard time convincing him of the fact. She was so glad that he had finally found someone who loved him for him, exactly the way he was.

"I am in love, Abby." Her brother wholeheartedly agreed. "I most certainly am."

Josie yawned and stretched as consciousness slowly seeped into her tired brain. Opening her eyes she grinned at the sunshine coming in her window. She had just had the most incredible dream about herself and Sam Coulson. She had dreamt that during the Prom she had finally worked up enough courage to tell Sam the truth about her undercover status. She could still picture the intense look of relief in his eyes when she'd told him that she was twenty-five and he'd told her that he had been wishing for weeks that she wasn't his high school student but that she was older and more mature. And the kiss they'd shared! Shivers continued to run up her spine as Josie remembered the sweetness and tenderness of their first kiss.

Smiling dreamily she looked at her Rosalind costume hanging on the door of her closet. "I hope Sam reacts the same way when I tell him the truth tonight." She mused wistfully.

The phone beside her bed suddenly started ringing, causing her to jump with a start. She glanced at her alarm clock and silently wondered who would be calling her at six o'clock in the morning. "Hello?" She answered, her voice still husky from sleep.

The voice that greeted her ears caused her to start again, but this time from confusion. "Morning, Beautiful." Sam Coulson's voice greeted cheerily. "I hope I'm not calling you too early, but I just couldn't wait any longer to hear your beautiful voice."

There was a pause of several seconds before Josie tentatively asked. "Is that you, Mr. Coulson?"

Sam laughed in amusement, realizing that Josie mustn't be fully awake yet. "Mr. Coulson, is it? Very well than, _Miss Geller_, two can play that game."

Another long pause followed his teasing statement. Finally he heard her whisper softly to herself. "I must still be dreaming. Mr. Coulson wouldn't be calling me. He has that beautiful girlfriend and I'm just Josie Grossie."

Sam felt his blood chill when he heard what she'd called herself. _That must have been the nickname that Rob was referring to last night._ Sam decided, cringing slightly at the thought of anyone pinning that horrible nickname on such a wonderful creature. Deciding it was time to bring Josie out of her sleep induced stupor he gently said. "Sweetheart, time to wake up. Come one. I want you to wake up and talk to me."

"I'm awake." Josie informed him then giggled as a yawn punctuated her protest. "Okay, I'm half-awake." Pulling herself into a sitting position she asked stupidly. "What day is this?"

"It's Saturday." He told her, amusement still evident in his voice. "Are you sure you didn't get any spiked punch last night at the Prom or something. Or are you just one of those types of people who can't hold their coffee?"

Trying to awaken her sleepy brain long enough to grasp the conversation, Josie finally commented. "So, am I to gather from the fact that you are calling me at six o'clock in the morning that that wonderful dream that I had about telling you the truth about myself at the Prom was really true? I _really_ did tell you that I'm an undercover reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times and you really did tell me that you love me?"

"You're an undercover reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times?" Sam exclaimed in complete shock. When Josie failed to respond he chuckled lightly and assured her. "Yes, you told me that you were an undercover reporter and yes I most certainly did tell you that I'm in love with you. And if you don't believe me I'll tell you again. Josie Geller, I love you with all my heart and I will continue to love you for the rest of my life."

Josie's eyes misted slightly. "I love you too, Sam." She was so relieved to know that all the events that she remembered from the Prom had really happened.

"So, what are you doing this morning?" He asked curiously as he stretched out comfortably on his bed.

"I thought I'd make an attempt at writing a story about my experience at South Glen South. But I'm having a hard time coming up with something as 'sensational' as a teacher/student scandal. I wonder if the Chicago Chronicle is looking for a copy editor or maybe I should just put in an application at McDonalds. Would you like fries with that?" She mimicked sarcastically.

"You'd look cute with a fishnet over your head." Sam teased lightly, trying to make her smile. Then in a more serious tone he added. "Don't give up, honey. I know you can do it. I have complete and utter faith in you. You'll come up with something wonderful."

"I don't know, Sam." She commented uncertainly. "I don't have a clue what to write about."

"In order to write well its best to write what you know." Sam told her seriously. "So just write something about what you've learned while you've been at South Glen South. Wasn't that the original topic of your article? Finding out about kids today?"

"I don't know if that topic's good enough anymore." She sighed slightly. "I have a feeling that Gus and Rigfort want something more sensational than that. They want a scandal."

"Don't worry, Sweetheart." He told her comfortingly. "We'll think of something. We're in this together."

"I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear you say that." She told him sincerely. "I am _so _sorry for dragging you into the middle of this mess. I wish I'd never accepted this stupid assignment. Gus was right, I'm not cut out to be a reporter."

Sam frowned at her comment and replied. "I don't know this Gus character but I'm beginning to really dislike him."

"Oh, Gus isn't all bad." Josie defended loyally. "He's one of those type of people who's all bark and no bite. He acts all gruff and mean, but deep down - _way _deep down - he has a good heart. And he's usually more right about things than I'd like to admit." She sighed slightly and added. "He tried telling me that I wasn't cut out for a reporter's life, but I wouldn't listen to him. I was stubborn. I wanted to write, but I guess I didn't think about what was involved. I just saw the writing portion of it, not the lying, deceptive angle. I guess I don't have what it takes to be a reporter."

"You may not have what it takes to be an undercover, dirt stirring reporter, but that doesn't mean that you don't have what it takes to be a good writer. I have never known anybody with the talent or the passion for writing that you have. Anybody can put words on a page, but you make the words come to life. That's not something anybody can teach you, that's a gift that you are lucky enough to have. All you have to do is find you niche. We'll find it together."

Josie blushed slightly at his wonderful compliments and said. "You really are wonderful, you know that? How did I get so lucky as to have found you? As much as I'm frustrated with this whole assignment, at least one good thing has come out of it."

"And what's that?" Sam asked, feigning innocence.

"You of course, silly." She laughed gaily, knowing he was teasing her. "I still can't believe I'm actually talking to you on the telephone. I feel like I'm still dreaming."

"What can I do to help convince you that this isn't a dream?" He asked, an expectant smile spreading across his face.

Josie pretended to think for a moment before replying. "How about if you came over for some breakfast. I make a mean omelet and even better French Toast."

"French Toast!" He exclaimed delightedly. "You just said the magic words. I'll be there in half an hour!"

Josie's heart jumped into her throat when she heard a light knock at her apartment door. Taking a deep breath she smoothed the skirt of her light blue dress before opening the door for her visitor. "Hi." She greeted nervously as she flashed him a warm smile.

"Hi." He returned with a large grin. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks." She blushed as she gestured for him to come inside.

"Nice place." He told her as he glanced around with appreciation. "Did you decorate it yourself?"

"My mom helped me pick out the colors and Rob helped me paint." She told him as she followed him into the living room. "Though I don't know what was more covered in paint me and Rob or the walls!"

Sam chuckled. "I thought you seemed pretty adept at paint fights when we were painting the backdrop for the Prom."

"I've had a lot of practice." She laughed remembering all the paint wars that she and Rob had had over the years.

Sam's eyes fell upon the large collection of books that she had on a bookcase on the other side of the room. Crossing curiously to see her collection he was delighted to find several of his favorites. "'_Pride and Prejudice'_, '_Jane Eyre'_, '_Anne of Green Gables'_, '_Wuthering Heights'..._" His eyes started to twinkle as he pulled out one of her books and looked at her in amusement. "'The Hardy Boys'?"

Josie shrugged her shoulders and blushed slightly. "Rob got me hooked when I was about twelve. I've read every Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy book ever written."

"So have I." Sam admitted proudly. Then looking at the book he held he smiled. "And this one happens to be one of my all time favorites."

"Mine too." She acknowledged. "Rob bought me that book when I graduated grade school."

As Sam returned the book to its spot his eyes lit up as he noticed a series of red, hard-covered books. "You have the complete works of Charles Dickens? That's an impressive collection!"

"I inherited it from my Grandmother." Josie told him. "She was a real bookworm just like me. In fact it was her that got me hooked on the written word. When I was young she use to read to me from Dickens all the time. I love _Oliver_ and _Pickwick Papers_ the best. By the time I was in High School I was reading a book a day."

"Wow, you were quite the bookworm!" Sam acknowledged, his eyes sparkling with delight. It was a welcome change to have a girlfriend who shared his love of literature.

"One night when I was in High School I was having a hard time sleeping and ended up reading three books and doing three book reports for extra credit." When he looked at her in surprise she shrugged slightly and added. "I told you I was a nerd."

"You weren't a nerd." He told her seriously as he turned from her book collection to face her. "You were a teacher's dream, you were a dedicated student." Putting his hands on her shoulders he added in a soft whisper. "You're definitely this teacher's dream come true."

"Oh, Sam." With tears in her eyes Josie threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I love you."

"I love you too." He returned as he hugged her tightly to him. Then pulling back so he could see her face he gave her a bright smile before leaning in and kissing her gently on the lips. Josie responded eagerly to his kiss and soon they were locked in a passionate embrace.

It's unknown how long it would have been before the pair would have come up for air had the phone not rang and interrupted them. They both groaned in annoyance and pulled apart. "I guess I'd better get that." She said reluctantly as she moved out of Sam's embrace. Walking over to the bar between the kitchen and living room she picked up the phone. "Hello?" She greeted pleasantly.

"Hey, Jos!" Rob's excited voice greeted her ears. "How's it going?"

"Great!" Josie smiled as she recognized her younger brother's voice. "You're up early for a Saturday morning. It's barely eight o'clock."

"Doug Archer called me just now and told me that there's a baseball game on at ten o'clock at the ball diamond if we can get a team together." Rob told her eagerly causing Josie to smile knowingly. "We have most of the team in place, but we need someone to play Centerfield. Think your boyfriend would be interested?"

"How should I know?" She chuckled slightly, deeply amused by her brother's obvious enthusiasm. Nothing got him excited like baseball. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"I would, but I don't know his phone number." Rob retorted a little crisply.

"What makes you think I know it." She commented innocently.

"Come on, Jos! Don't fool with me!" Her brother exclaimed impatiently. "You've probably memorized every detail of that guy's life. Now come on, give me his number."

"Okay, calm down." She admonished reprovingly. "It's just a game."

"It's not just a _game_." He objected. "It's a _baseball game_. Now can I please have Mr. C.'s number?"

"It's 555-7265." She told him quickly, sending Sam a mischievous look. Sam watched her curiously, wondering who she was giving his number to.

"Thanks, Jos." Her brother acknowledged excitedly. "See you later."

"But Rob..." She tried to stop him but he was gone. Laughing she hung up the phone.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked curiously.

"Rob wants to know if you would be interested in playing a pick up game of baseball today." Josie told him. "Game starts at ten and they're looking for someone to play Centerfield."

"My specialty." He grinned cheekily. Then with a mild frown he noted. "But you didn't tell him if I'd be interested or not."

"I told him he'd have to ask you himself." She told him seriously. "So I gave him your number."

"But I'm right here." He pointed out, his lips twitching slightly as he fought a grin.

"I know that." Josie acknowledged. "But Rob didn't give me a chance to tell him that. Once he got your number he was gone."

"Should I call him at home?" Sam asked eagerly, excited at the thought of playing baseball with Rob and his friends.

Josie shook her head and laughed. "He'll call back once he realizes your not home." Just then the phone rang. "Told you." Her eyes twinkled with amusement as she picked up the phone. "Hello Rob."

"Mr. C.'s not home." Her brother informed her in a near panic. "Do you know where he might be?"

"Calm down, Rob." She urged, trying to suppress her building laughter.

"I can't calm down, Josie, this is serious!" Rob told her with mild panic. "It's two hours before game time and we don't have anyone to play Centerfield."

"You take baseball _way_ too seriously, Rob!" His sister commented as she rolled her eyes and gestured for Sam to come to the phone. "Here's your missing Centerfield player." She handed the phone to Sam and warned. "He's on a rampage again. He gets like this when he so much as _smells_ a baseball game."

Sam chuckled and took the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mr. C.!" Rob greeted eagerly. "How are you this morning?"

"Fine." Sam smiled, noting the excitement in the other man's voice.

"Good." Rob acknowledged excitedly. "You up for a baseball game?"

"Sounds good to me." Sam replied, eagerness filling his own voice. "Where should I meet you?"

Rob gave him the directions to the ball field telling him he'd meet Sam there at 9:30. "The game starts at ten but we need a few minutes to plan our strategy."

"I'll see you then." Sam assured him with amusement in his voice.

"Oh, and Mr. C., a word to the wise." The younger man quickly added. "Stay away from Josie's French Toast."

"Why's that?" Sam asked, watching Josie as she pulled down a bowl and gathered the ingredients for the dish under discussion.

"Because it's far too addictive!" Rob told him seriously. "One piece is never enough and we have a very important game ahead of us! I'd hate to see us loose because our Centerfield player ate too much French Toast for breakfast!"

Sam shook his head and chuckled. "I promise to do my best not to eat too much of Josie's French Toast." Josie looked at him and rolled her eyes heavenward. She knew exactly what her brother was telling Sam. She'd heard him rant about it before. After saying goodbye and hanging up phone he looked at Josie and started laughing. "Is your brother always this passionate about baseball?"

Josie groaned and rolled her eyes again. "You don't know the half of it. When he first heard that I was at South Glen South the first words out of his mouth were 'they have a killer baseball team'."

Sam laughed again and settled on a bar stool while Josie moved into the kitchen to fix their breakfast. "I know Scott has loved having him around the last few weeks. He says he's a very knowledgeable player, very talented too.

Josie glanced over her shoulder to Sam, a thought formulating in her mind. "Do you think that Coach Romano would be interested in hiring an assistant?"

Sam smiled broadly at the idea, immediately understanding what she was thinking. "I think Scott would love to have Rob as an assistant."

"I'm wondering if we should approach Coach Romano about it before the big game." Josie mused, obviously still deep in thought. "I'd hate to see the Rams disqualified from the winning the title because they had an overaged player on the team."

"I'll talk to Scott if you want." Sam offered. "I might be able to persuade him to hire Rob as his assistant. Though, I'd probably have to tell him why Rob shouldn't play in the big game."

Josie nodded. "I guess under the circumstances it's hard to avoid."

"Don't worry, honey." He quickly assured her. "Scott will keep our secret. And to be honest I think he'll be happy to have Rob working for him."

"I hope so." She smiled a little uncertainly. "I know Rob would be thrilled. After all he lives, breaths and eats baseball."

"I kind of got that impression." Sam chuckled with amusement. "So are you going to come to the game?"

Josie looked at him with surprise. "You want me to come?"

"Of course!" He told her eagerly. "It would be nice to have my girlfriend watch me play ball at least once in my life!"

She gave him another surprised look. "You mean in the five years that you and Lara were dating she never once went to one of your baseball games?"

Sam shook his head. "Not one. But then she hated sports. Her only interest, besides her career, was Operas. She loved Operas." Looking at Josie seriously he pleaded in a half-serious tone. "Please don't tell me you love the Opera."

Josie hesitated for a moment, pretending to be thoughtful before letting a slow grin spread across her lips. "I've never been to an Opera, so I guess I couldn't really say."

"Good, then you don't know the boredom that you're missing." He exclaimed in delight. "Looks like we'll never have a fight over going to the Opera."

"Or about going to baseball games." She added, removing some golden French toast from her griddle.

"How do you feel about hockey?" He asked curiously.

"Black Hawks rule!" She exclaimed, causing Sam to grin foolishly in return.

As Josie placed the plate of French Toast before him he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close. Kissing her cheek he exclaimed with great delight. "Honey, if we can live on love, baseball and hockey we will be two of the happiest people in the world!"

"I'm going to sit up in the bleachers and work on my story while you guys warm up." Josie told Rob and Sam as they walked from the cars to the ballfield. "Maybe I'll get a wonderful idea and write a great award-winning article - or else maybe I'll just beat my head against my notebook a few times and crash down into the despair of writer's block."

"Don't worry, Josie." Sam quickly assured her, putting an arm comfortingly around her shoulders. "I'm sure you'll come up with something brilliant. "I have complete faith in you."

"Thanks, Sam." She gave him a grateful smile as he gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Just make sure that while you're doing all this brilliant brainstorming of yours that you don't forget to pay attention to the game." Rob admonished her seriously.

Josie rolled her eyes heavenward and assured him. "When you start playing, I promise to give your game my undivided attention." Looking up at her new boyfriend she added slyly. "Especially when your Centerfield player is on the field." Sam grinned at her and leaned down to kiss her gently on the lips.

"Okay you two, none of that." Rob interrupted them, slipping completely into his Team Captain mode. With a wave of his fingers he dismissed his sister. "Go write your story. I have to have a strategy meeting with my team."

Glancing around them Josie commented sarcastically. "Well, don't let me interfere with your _important_ meeting. Especially since you and Sam are the only players here - for either team."

"That's fine." Rob told her seriously. "That gives Mr. C. and I time to throw a few balls, get use to each others style. It'll help give us an edge on Doug's team."

Josie just shook her head slightly. Looking at Sam she said. "If he gets too obnoxious you have my full permission to hit him over the head with a bat."

Sam chuckled with amusement." Hopefully it won't come to that, but thanks for the idea." Placing a gentle kiss on her lips he gave her another quick squeeze.

Giving him a loving smile, Josie said. "I'll be right over here if you need me."

As the couple separated Rob encouraged his new friend. "Come on, Mr. C. I'll pitch you a few practice balls."

Tearing his eyes away from Josie Sam nodded and clasped Rob on the shoulder, an amused smile on his face. "Rob, do me a favor will you?"

"What is it?" The younger man asked curiously.

"_Please_ stop calling me, 'Mr. C' when were not in school." Sam requested. "I'm not your teacher, I'm not even four years older than you and I'm dating your sister. I think it's okay if you call me 'Sam'."

A broad smile split Rob's face. "If that's what you want, Mr...Sam."

Mr. C. nodded his head, a large grin on his face. "It's what I want."

"Okay then, Sam, let's get on the field and I'll pitch a few practice balls to you." Sam chuckled in amusement as he followed Rob onto the baseball field. As they walked Rob talked animatedly about the upcoming game, about different strategies that he wanted to use and what some of his secret signals were. Sam found himself getting caught up in the young man's obvious excitement. It felt so good to be playing ball again. He'd given up playing baseball about two years ago in an attempt to appease Lara. She was always complaining that he was much more interested in playing ball with his friends than he was in coming to see her in New York. Tired of the repetitive argument, he'd finally quit playing ball - right before the big championship game. Lara had been delighted - for a while - that is until Hockey season started. Then she started in on him all over again about how he loved playing hockey more than he loved her. Again, trying to be the peacemaker he once again gave up something he loved to appease Lara.

As Sam took a few practice swings with the bat that Rob had brought he stole a glance towards where Josie was typing away on her laptop. As he watched her he started to wonder if there might be a chance that he could spend his summer and winter months playing the sports that he loved so much.

"Sam!" Rob's voice calling his name got his attention.

Giving the younger man an apologetic look he asked. "Sorry, what did you say?"

Rob rolled his eyes and huffed slightly. "If you don't stop gawking at my sister we'll never win this game!"

"Sorry." Sam apologized again, but then with a twinkle in his eye he added. "But she's just so nice to gawk at."

"Hey, that's my sister you're talking about there pal! You'd better watch what you say!" Rob pretended to threaten pointing a finger at Sam warningly. "And don't let me catch you staring at her again."

"You won't." Sam quickly assured him before deliberately shifting his gaze to Josie.

Rob chuckled in amusement as he called out. "Good, then let's play ball!"

The two men hit the ball around for the next ten minutes, until the other players started to show. All of Rob's team was on the field warming up when Doug Archer and his players arrived.

"Hey, Geller!" Archer greeted eagerly as he approached where Rob and Sam were talking. "You ready to get your butt kicked?"

"By you and what Army, Archer!" Rob called back challengingly. Even though is words were dripping with venom his eyes were dancing with amusement.

"I don't need an Army to whip your sorry butts." Doug returned, both his tone and his expression mirroring his friend's.

"We'll see who's butt gets whipped by who." Rob exclaimed as he stepped up to the other man. "Let's get this show on the road."

"And may the best team win!" His opponent said with building excitement as he extended his hand to Rob.

Grasping the offered hand Rob gave him friend a mischievous smirk and replied cheekily. "Oh, don't worry. We will!"

"He went to Yale for four years majoring in English Literature and minoring in Creative Writing. He played Left Wing on the Yale hockey team and graduated in the top ten of his class."

"Sounds like he's a very talented young man." Janet Geller commented, a broad smile on her face as her daughter whole-heartedly agreed with her.

"He is. He is so well-read - and so much fun. He always makes English class enjoyable. I'll never be able to look at Shakespeare the same way again. I've always enjoyed his plays, but now I _love_ them."

"Are you sure its Shakespeare you love or your English teacher?" Her mother teased, looking at her slyly.

Josie blushed slightly and admitted. "Both."

Her mother gave her a warm smile and asked. "So when do we get to meet this wonderful, talented, fun man of yours?"

"He should be here any time." The young woman replied as she glanced at the clock on the wall. "He wanted to go home and shower and change after the game and then he has to stop by to talk to Coach Romano about something."

"Coach Romano?" Janet's brow puckered thoughtfully. "Isn't that Rob's baseball coach?"

Josie nodded and lowered her voice as she replied. "Sam and I talked about it this morning and we've decided to tell him all about Rob and me."

"What made you decide that?" Her mother asked curiously as she set about chopping some vegetables for a salad.

"I was worried that if Rob played in the championship game on Monday night that the team could possibly be disqualified if it became known that they had an overaged player on the team." Josie explained as she popped a piece of celery into her mouth. "Especially if they won the title."

"Rob's not going to be very happy with you if you get him kicked off the team." The older woman remarked knowingly. "You know how seriously he takes baseball."

Josie rolled her eyes in understanding. "Oh, yeah! I think Sam knows it now too. He got a good dose of Rob's obsessiveness this morning during that little pickup game of theirs." Shaking her head she chuckled. "I don't know what we're going to do about him."

"My question is what _you_ plan to do about him and the championship game?" Her mother questioned seriously.

"Sam's going to ask Coach Romano if he'd be interested in hiring Rob as an assistant." Josie explained. "That way even after this assignment is over, Rob will still be able to be around the game he loves so much."

Janet gave her daughter a look of approval. "I'm sure Rob will love that."

The younger woman shrugged slightly. "It's the least I could do after all the help he's given me during this assignment. There's no way I could have ever gotten in with the cool kids on my own. If it weren't for Rob's help, I'd still be on the outside looking in; still wondering what it would be like to be popular. Even though its not all its cracked up to be, the experience of being accepted has helped me to put so many things into perspective that I never would have been able to if it hadn't have happened. Do you know what I mean?"

Her mother smiled and nodded. "It sounds to me like you've finally found yourself. That you have finally experienced everything you wanted to experience in High School and have put it all in the proper place." Pausing thoughtfully for a moment her mother suggested. "Maybe that should be the theme of your article." Josie pondered the idea silently for several moments, considering its possibilities. "So, have you told Rob about this job idea yet?"

Josie shook her head. "No, not yet. I want to wait to see what Coach Romano thinks about the idea first. If he's okay with it and everything is a go, then I'll tell Rob." Just then the doorbell rang, interrupting their conversation. "That's him!" Running a nervous hand through her hair and then over her clothes she asked anxiously. "How do I look?"

"Like a woman in love." Her mother commented, deeply amused by her daughter's obvious excitement. "Now go and open the door for that wonderful young man of yours." Josie flushed slightly but quickly dashed off to obey, leaving her mother chuckling in the kitchen.

She stopped briefly to check her reflection in the hall mirror before reaching the front door. "Hi." She greeted warmly as she pulled the door open and found Sam standing on the doorstep.

"Hi." He smiled broadly in return.

"Why don't you come in?" She invited, gesturing for him to come inside.

Stepping inside Sam waited until Josie had closed the door behind him before producing a bouquet of flowers from behind his back. "These are for you."

"Oh, Sam." Josie took the flowers and buried her face in them. "They're beautiful."

Lifting his hand to gently touch her face he whispered softly. "Not as beautiful as you." Leaning down he planted a loving kiss on her smiling lips. Josie deepened the kiss by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. They were still locked in each other's embrace when Rob descended the stairs two at a time.

"Not again!" He groaned in mock-disgust as soon as he saw the pair. "Do you guys mind, we're going to be eating soon."

Looking at her younger brother Josie commented very sweetly. "If it bothers you that much than you're more than welcome to go someplace else - _any_ place else."

"And miss harassing you." Rob argued wickedly. "Not on your life."

Giving Rob a sly look Sam remarked seriously. "If I were you, Rob, I would be thanking your sister instead of harassing her."

"Why's that?" The other man asked curiously.

"Well, let's just say that because of your sister you are now the new Assistant Coach of the South Glen South baseball team." With a slight smile he added. "With a little help from me, of course."

Rob stared at the pair for several moments, deep puzzlement engrained on his face. "I don't understand. What do you mean I'm the new Assistant Coach? I'm just a student there. It doesn't make sense."

"After the ball game, I went and talked to Scott Romano. I told him everything about you and Josie and Josie's undercover assignment." Hugging Josie to him he added, giving her a tender look. "I even told him about Josie and I."

"You did?" Rob looked at Josie, trying to gauge her reaction to that piece of information. To his surprise it didn't seem to fizz her in the least. It was like she already knew that Sam was going to tell Coach Romano the news.

Seeing her brother's expectant look Josie jumped in to explain. "I was thinking that if the Rams won the title Monday night and it became public that you - an overage player had played, then maybe they'd be disqualified and loose the championship. But I also knew that you would be very disappointed, if not upset, if you couldn't have something to do with that game. So, between Sam and I we came up with the idea to see if we could get Coach Romano to hire you as his assistant."

"And he was more than thrilled about the idea." Sam told him honestly. "He had been dreading the thought of loosing you after graduation. He was happy to learn that you were twenty-three and a real baseball nut."

"I'm the Assistant Baseball Coach at South Glen South." A bright smile spread across his face as he repeated. "I'm the Assistant Baseball Coach at South Glen South." He repeated that line five more times, his excitement building with each repetition. By the time he finished he was virtually bouncing up and down. Impulsively he lunged at Sam and Josie, wrapping an arm around each of them and giving them an exhurberant hug. "Thanks you guys! You're the best!"

"You're welcome." Sam laughed, slapping the other man good-naturedly on the back. "I'm sure you'll make a great coach."

"Just don't drive the players nuts with your obsessiveness." Josie warned teasingly as she hugged him back.

Rob gave her a mock-injured look. "I am not obsessive! I'm dedicated."

Josie rolled her eyes. "You're _way_ past dedicated! You're closer to obsessive compulsive." Before Rob could respond Josie grabbed Sam's hand and encouraged. "Come on, I want to introduce you to my parents. I assure you, they're better behaved than Rob is." Rob frowned at her as she lead Sam into the kitchen where her mother was peeling some potatoes.

"Mom, I'd like you to meet Sam Coulson..." Smiling shyly at Sam she added. "...my boyfriend." Janet noticed with pleasure the delighted look that appeared on Sam's face at her daughter's choice of title. "Sam, this is my mother, Janet Geller."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sam." Janet gave him a warm smile. "Josie has told us so much about you - especially after last night." She shot her daughter a teasing look causing the young woman to blush again.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Geller." Sam said, returning her warm smile with one of his own. "Josie's told me a lot about you too." Handing her a paper bag he held in his hand he added. "This is for you and Mr. Geller."

Janet accepted the bag and pulled out a bottle of red wine. Reading the label she recognized it as being a very expensive wine. "Thank you, Sam." She acknowledged kindly. "That was very thoughtful of you." Setting the bottle on the counter she addressed her daughter. "Why don't I put those flowers in a vase for you while you take Sam outside to join the guys at the barbecue. Maybe he can keep your father and your brother from sacrificing dinner." The two Geller women chuckled knowingly at the family joke.

"Isn't sacrificing dinner the whole point of barbecuing?" Sam asked innocently, his eyes dancing with mischief.

Both Josie and Janet rolled their eyes in mock-exasperation. "Looks like we've got another charbroiler." Janet moaned in mock-despair. "He should fit in very nicely with those two renegade chefs out back."

Josie tugged on Sam's hand and encouraged. "Come on, I want to introduce you to my dad."

Sam's face twisted into an expression of exaggerated fear as he said to Josie's mother. "It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Geller. I hope to see you again."

"Oh, I'm sure you will." Janet assured him, an amused grin on her face. "Oh, and just in case you need to know - the fire extinguisher is in the closet by the back door."

"Thanks." He acknowledged. "I'm sure that piece of information will come in handy. You never know when something might catch on fire in the back yard, especially with three charbroilers on the loose."

Janet laughed as her daughter pulled Sam out of the kitchen and towards the back door. Another chuckle escaped as she heard her daughter scold gently. "Of all the guys in Chicago, I had to find one as nutty as my brother!"


	3. Chapter 3

Tom Geller flipped the steaks on the barbecue, listening attentively to the conversation going on between Sam and Rob. The three men were casually sitting around the barbecue shooting the breeze while Josie and Janet put the finishing touches on the rest of the meal. Tom was welcoming the opportunity to get to know Sam better without Josie around. He'd received glowing reports about him from both Josie and Rob, but he wanted to judge for himself what kind of man was interested in his only daughter. From what he could tell so far, he seemed like a very likeable person: amiable, outgoing, fun and obviously well educated. Closing the lid on the barbecue he returned his barbecuing utensils to their place and reclaimed his chair beside Sam. After waiting for a lull in the conversation between the other two men, Tom casually remarked. "So, Sam. I understand you went to Yale."

"That's right." Sam nodded in confirmation, giving the older man his full attention.

"Good school Yale." Tom commented thoughtfully. "When did you graduate?"

"Class of 1995." The Yale graduate told him.

"And how long have you been teaching?" The senior Geller inquired.

"I've been teaching for three years now." Sam smiled, knowing instinctively that he was being 'checked out' by the other man. "I started teaching at South Glen South the fall of 1996."

"Josie says you're a very good teacher." Tom told him and smiled slightly when the younger man blushed faintly at the compliment.

"That means a lot to me coming from her." Sam admitted truthfully.

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you that my daughter thinks very highly of you." Mr. Geller informed Sam seriously. "Almost since the first day she met you she's been singing your praises." His face darkened slightly. "It's the first time I've seen her show any real interest in a guy since High School."

Sam, understanding the reason for the other man's stormy look said. "Josie told me about what happened to her in High School, especially at Prom." When both Tom and Rob gave him a look of complete surprise Sam continued, his tone becoming very serious as he looked at Josie's father and said. "Mr. Geller, I want you to know that I would _never_ do anything to hurt Josie. I think she is the most amazing woman that I have ever met. She's smart, she's funny..." He chuckled slightly as he thought about her 'performance' at Delloser. "...she's crazy. And I have never seen someone with as much talent for writing as her. I have a great deal of respect for your daughter, sir, which is why I've spent the last two months wishing that she wasn't my seventeen year old student and that I was allowed to act on my growing feelings for her."

"What would you have done if she was seventeen?" Tom asked curiously. "If I'm not mistaken Josie said that you'd told her at the Prom that there was something that you wanted to discuss with her. And that was _before_ she had told you she was twenty-five."

Sam blushed slightly and admitted. "I was planning to tell her to truth. That I wanted to be part of her life after High School was finished, even if it was just as a friend. I had decided that I cared about her too much to loose her, but at the same time I didn't want to put any pressure on her for a serious relationship if she wasn't ready. I was more than willing to wait for her even if it took a few years."

"What attracted you to Josie?" Her father pressed, his eyes never leaving the young man face. "What made you pick her out from the other girls in your class, do you think?"

The English teacher chuckled slightly as he thought about the other girls in his Senior Lit class. "For one thing, none of those girls have any sweet clue what Literature is. Their biggest literary achievements are reading a complete article in Teen Beat or one of their fashion magazines. The first day Josie came to my class I asked if any of my students knew what 'pastoral' meant. One girl replied that that's what they do to milk." Tom and Rob both chuckled at that. "Josie was the next one to raise her hand and not only did she define the word but she also gave the origin of the word." He looked thoughtful for a moment before adding. "I think I was hooked from that moment. There was something about her that I just connected with. I don't know if it was because she shared the same love of literature and the written word that I did or if it was her spunky personality that attracted me. All I know is that I was hooked before I even realized what was going on. Suddenly I found myself counting the minutes until my Senior Lit class, I attacked my correcting assignments with a renewed energy because I was eager to read what Josie had written for me." He blushed slightly as he admitted. "I have a folder in my briefcase full of copies of all of Josie's assignments because I hated giving them back to her. I felt that each one was a piece of her, like a gift from her soul. With every assignment I read I found myself falling more and more in love with her, which I have to admit scared me to death given I thought she was my student." Pausing briefly he continued. "I felt like such a heel for falling in love with one of my students. I'd read about cases of such a thing happening, but I never thought it would ever happen to me. I never thought I'd ever fall in love with a seventeen year old."

"But Josie's not seventeen." Tom pointed out. "She's twenty-five."

"I know that - now." Sam acknowledged. "But I didn't know that when I was beating myself up for having feelings for my underaged student. I guess my only consolation is that since she's twenty-five she obviously seemed like a very _mature_ seventeen-year-old." He looked directly at Tom and said. "I can't begin to tell you how relieved I was when she told me she was twenty-five. It was like this huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was finally able to freely tell her how I feel about her and not feel like I was 'robbing the cradle' so to speak."

"But what are you going to do next week?" Tom asked curiously. "Josie said that nobody at her office knows that she's told you the truth yet, so she'll be going to class on Monday just as if nothing's happened."

"Well, I guess I'll have to rely on my High School Drama Club days and do some pretty convincing acting for the camera." Sam remarked with a wary smile.

"So are you enjoying yourself?" Josie asked Sam, as she set the plate she had just washed in the drip tray.

"Very much." He told her as he leaned down to place a kiss on her lips before picking up the plate and drying it. "I really like your family. They're very nice."

"What were you, Dad and Rob talking about before supper?" She asked curiously as she set another plate in the tray.

Sam smirked slightly in amusement as he remembered the conversation. "I was going through part two of the Geller men's 'Are You Eligible To Date Josie' test."

Josie gave him a look of alarm. "They didn't give you the third degree, did they? Oh, Sam, I'm so sorry! I didn't think Rob would feel the need to grill you any further after your game today. He was so impressed by your playing that I thought he'd leave you alone now. I am _so_ sorry."

"Sweetheart, take it easy." Sam put his hands on her arms and looked into her distressed face. "It's okay. Rob wasn't the one asking the questions, it was your father."

"My father!" Her eyes widened in horror. "That's even worse. Rob I can understand, but my father! Oh, Sam. What you must think of them."

"Josie, it's okay." He gave her a reassuring smile. "I didn't mind. Really. He was only trying to find out more about me, that's all. It wasn't anything any concerned father wouldn't do."

"Concerned?" Josie repeated in surprise. "What could he possibly be concerned about?"

"I think he's concerned about you getting hurt again." He told her seriously. "He's just trying to protect you."

"But you'd never hurt me." Josie argued softly. "Especially not like that."

"I know that and you know that, but your Dad was just trying to reassure himself of that." He told her seriously. "He loves you very much and just wants the best for you." He touched the side of her face with his hand and stroked her cheek tenderly. "And so do I." They smiled at each other for a moment before Sam leaned down and kissed her. The sound of the doorbell ringing finally brought them up for air.

"I'll get it!" Rob called from the other room.

"So, what was the final result of the test?" Josie asked as she returned to her dishes.

"I passed." He told her proudly.

"Meaning?" She pressed, giving him a mischievous smile.

"Meaning that I'm allowed to do this." Leaning down he kissed her again. Josie responded by sliding her arms around his neck and pulling him close.

The pair were completely lost in their kiss until an urgent whisper interrupted them. "Josie! Sam!"

Looking at her anxious looking mother Josie whispered back. "What is it?"

"Gus and Anita are here!" Her mother informed her seriously.

Josie's eyes widened as she heard Gus' gruff bark. "Geller!"

She had just enough time to propel an astonished Sam behind the kitchen door before Gus and Anita walked in. Jumping back from the door with a guilty look on her face she managed to stammer. "Gus! Anita! What are you doing here?"

"We're selling Girl Guide cookies." Gus snapped sarcastically. "Why else would I be here? I came to talk to you about your story."

"What about it?" Josie asked, her eyes darting quickly to Sam's, who she could see from behind the door, then back to Gus'.

To everyone's surprise, especially Josie's, Gus' response came in a softer tone. "Look, Geller, I know you have feelings for this Coulson guy and that he seems to have feelings for you. After listening to that conversation that you and that meddlesome brother of yours had last night." He narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger at her as he added. "Which I _know_ was had entirely for _my_ benefit." His expression softened again as he continued. "I've decided that if you can come up with another story by next Monday's deadline I'll let you do it." Pointing his finger at her again he informed her. "But it better be something wonderful or else we go with the original idea. I don't intend to loose my job just because you fell in love with your story. Do you understand me?"

Josie nodded her head and then threw herself at her boss, wrapping her arms around his neck to give him a grateful hug. "Thank you, Gus! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome, Geller." He told her as he returned her hug awkwardly. Then after a couple moments he pushed her away with his usual rebuke. "Don't make me send you my memo on inter office hugging." Josie and Anita exchanged knowing smiles over Gus' shoulder. They both knew that with Gus most times his bark was worse than his bite. "Well, we'd better go." He told Anita a trifle gruffly as he turned on his heels and left the kitchen. Anita and Josie immediately followed him.

"So what are you guys up to this evening?" Josie asked curiously noting with great interest the way they were both dressed. Anita was wearing a calf-length blue floral print skirt with a blue short sleeved sweater while Gus was dressed in black dress pants and a hunter green polo shirt. Josie had never seen them looking nicer.

Looping her arm through Gus' Anita looked at her best friend and announced proudly. "Gus and I are going to the movies."

Josie raised an eyebrow in surprise but managed to smile brightly at the pair as she exclaimed. "That's great! What are you going to see?"

"There's a little movie theater downtown that's replaying _**Titanic**_." Anita told her, her eyes dancing with delight.

"Oh, I love that movie!" Josie exclaimed, her eyes mirroring her friends. "I've seen it about a dozen times, but I still cry when Jack dies."

"Well thanks, Geller." Gus mumbled grumpily. "You just told me the ending."

Josie gaped at him in surprise. "Are you telling me that you haven't seen it yet? I thought _everybody_ had seen _**Titanic**_ by now. It was one of the biggest, most widely played movies of this century!"

"Geller, the last movie I went to was my Senior year at Dartmouth. I saw _**Back to the Future**_." With an annoyed grunt he huffed. "And I'm still waiting to find out where they were going at the end. It's been fourteen years, you'd think they'd have released a sequel by now!" Josie and Anita both gaped at him in surprise.

"Ah, Gus." Anita began hesitantly. "They made a sequel to _**Back to the Future **_already."

"They have?" Her date looked at her in astonishment.

"About ten years ago." She informed him. "They made two of them actually."

"You mean to tell me that there are _three_ _**Back to the Future**_ movies now?" Gus looked at both women for confirmation.

"That's right, Gus." Anita nodded.

"Oh." He looked thoughtful for a moment.

Josie couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. "You really do have to get out more."

To her surprise Gus merely nodded his head in agreement. "Maybe I do. Maybe I do." Then looking at Anita he asked. "Are you ready to go? The movie starts at seven."

"Ready." She nodded. Then releasing Gus' arm she moved to Josie and pulled her into a warm embrace. "I'll call you later." She told her cheerily before whispering softly. "And I want _all_ the details." Josie looked at her in astonishment as Anita released her.

Swallowing hard Josie searched her best friend's face anxiously. Seeing only delight and mild curiosity she nodded and in a controlled voice that completely belied her beating heart she said. "I'll be home." Anita gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her arm, silently telling her that her secret was safe.

"Don't forget, Geller." Gus addressed as he opened the front door. "Staff meeting Monday at four. And try not to be late this time! You know how Rigfort can get when people aren't on time."

"Don't worry, Gus." Josie quickly assured her boss. "I'll be there at four o'clock sharp." Then as Anita followed Gus out the door she called out. "Have fun."

At her words Anita poked her head back inside and said. "You too." Then with a sly wink she was gone. Staring at the closed door Josie started to shake her head and giggle slightly.

"What's so funny?" Sam asked as he emerged from the kitchen.

"She knows." Was Josie's simple reply.

"Knows what?" He looked at her curiously.

"She knows about us." She told him in mild disbelief. "I don't know how she knows, but she knows."

"Think she'll tell Gus?" He asked with concern, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Josie shook her head. "There's no chance of that. Anita's my best friend. She'd never do anything to hurt me."

"But she is dating your boss." Sam pointed out still a little worried.

Josie looked at him with an amused look on her face. "There _are_ on a date, aren't they?"

Sam chuckled slightly and teased. "Well, _I'd _call going to a movie a date, but what do I know? I'm only an old English teacher, I'm not as hype as you young High School kids."

Josie laughed and slapped him lightly on the chest. "You don't understand. Gus and Anita have always been antagonists. They fight all the time. The day before I started this assignment he threatened to fire her - for what would have been the ninth time. He's fired her eight times already." When Sam's eyebrows raised in surprise she chuckled and added. "After the first couple of times it's just become an office joke. There's actually a pool speculating the date when Gus will reach ten." Then looking at the closed door she added. "But judging the way things are looking now, they just may not reach ten."

"Sounds like they have an interesting relationship." Sam laughed, then slyly asked. "Is that why she moonlights as 'Pam Kitterman – Sex Ed Expert'?"

Josie blushed and laughed at the memory of Anita's sex lecture a few weeks ago. "Well, I don't know if I'd call her an 'expert'. But she is definitely well acquainted with the subject."

"And certainly not shy about it either." He remarked with a chuckle.

"Tell me about it." Josie rolled her eyes. "Believe me, I've heard her comment on the subject many, many times." With a thoughtful look on her face she mused. "I wonder how she found out about us."

"Guess you're just going to have to ask her." Sam replied, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. Josie nodded in agreement, greatly anticipating her upcoming conversation with her best friend.

It was eleven-oh-one when Josie stepped into her apartment that night. After leaving her parents place at nine-thirty, she and Sam had arranged to meet up at _Perks, _the coffee shop they'd been at the night before, for a coffee. They'd spent an hour talking and laughing and getting to know each other better. Josie found that the more she got to know him, the more in love she fell with him. He was so warm and caring and fun. She loved the way his eyes sparkled when he laughed. And the tender looks that he would give her was enough to make her heart melt. She felt so happy and so scared at the same time. It was liked she'd told Anita and Cynthia that day at lunch - she felt so lucky to have such a precious gift as Sam's love and so scared that one day she was going to loose it.

She'd just flopped down wearily on the loveseat when the phone started to ring. "There's Anita." She remarked knowingly as she pulled herself off the sofa. Answering on the fifth ring she greeted the caller brightly. "Hello, Anita."

"Hello nothing!" Her friend returned on the other end. "Don't waste time on unimportant things I want details!"

"About what?" Josie asked innocently as she settled herself on a stool beside the phone.

"About what?" Anita repeated in surprise. "Don't play coy with me young lady! I want to know what that gorgeous English teacher of yours was going hiding behind your kitchen door?"

"What?" Josie nearly choked at her friend's words. "How did you...?"

"I saw him in the kitchen will you when Gus and I first came in the house." Her friend told her proudly. "The two of you were somewhat _preoccupied_ at the time." Josie blushed as she remembered the kiss that she and Sam had shared just before Gus and Anita had come into the kitchen. "So come on, give me details! What happened and when? And I gather that Gus doesn't know about it since you hid that poor boy behind the door."

"No, he doesn't know." Her young friend admitted. "And he'll probably kill me once he finds out."

"Not if you get that alternative story in by next Monday." Anita assured her. "And don't worry, your secret is safe with me. But I want details! Every single tiny, juicy detail!"

"Okay, okay, I'll talk!" Josie laughed at her friend's insistent tone. "But only if you promise to give me all the details on you and Gus."

"Deal." Anita answered quickly. "Now, come on. Spill your guts!"

Laughing Josie complied. "Well, you remember last night when I was experiencing those 'technical difficulties'?"

"Yeah." Anita acknowledged.

"Well, they weren't really 'technical difficulties'." The younger woman admitted. "I cut the feed."

"I knew it!" Anita cried triumphantly. "I knew you cut the feed! So what happened? Did Guy really cut in on you and your teacher?"

"No." Josie replied. "That was just Rob's story for Gus' sake. What really happened was that after I told Sam..."

"Sam? Ooh, were on a first name basis now are we?" Her friend teased excitedly.

"I should hope so." Josie exclaimed before baiting. "I am his girlfriend after all!" She laughed in amusement as her friend took the bait hook, line and sinker.

"What? How did that happen?"

Smiling Josie continued her story. "After I told _Sam_ that I had something to tell him and cut the feed he told me that he had something to tell me too." Josie grinned as she remembered the tone in his voice as he'd said it. It was so full of emotion - and so was his face. "After the song was over we went outside to talk." She deliberately paused to drive her friend crazy.

Sure enough Anita's eager "And?" quickly filled the phone.

"And...I told him everything." The younger woman concluded.

"Everything?" Anita prompted.

"_Everything!_" Josie replied with great emphasis.

"And what did he say?"

"Well, it turns out that he's just as crazy about me as I am about him." Josie told her.

"Oh, Josie!" Anita exclaimed delightedly. "I am _so_ happy for you! I knew I was right! I knew he loved you! So when's the wedding?"

Josie blushed slightly at the question when she remembered what Sam had said to her the night before. "He did tell me that he wants to marry me someday."

"He told you that!" Her friend exclaimed in great surprise. "He actually brought up marriage? When?"

"Just after he asked me to be his girlfriend." Josie told Anita seriously. "He said that one day he wanted me to be his wife."

"Oh, Josie, you are _so_ lucky." Her friend said, a trifle enviously. "You have found yourself one terrific guy. I'm jealous."

"Speaking of guys," Josie started to smile expectantly. "What's going on with you and our fearless leader? I tell you, I leave the office for two months and I'm out of the loop. Some friend you are! Not even bothering to tell me that you and Gus are now an item."

"We're not an _item_!" Anita denied emphatically. "I've just been helping Gus catch up on some of his work the last couple of weeks."

"Uh, huh." Was her friend's only reply.

"I swear that's all." The older woman exclaimed somewhat defensively.

"You know what Shakespeare would probably say." Josie questioned mischievously.

"What?"

"'The lady doth protest too much'." The young woman teased impishly.

Figuring she'd better quit while she was ahead Anita continued her story. "Last night while we were going through some story ideas I asked him if he wanted to go to the movies with me tonight. At first he balked, reminding me of his policy about 'interoffice dating', then he complained that he had too much work to do. It took a little convincing, but he_ finally _agreed to go with me."

"And?" Josie pressed curiously.

"And we had a wonderful time." Anita even blushed slightly as she admitted. "He even put his arm around my shoulders when I started crying at Jack's death."

"Gus?" Josie couldn't believer her ears. "Gus Strauss?"

"Gus." Anita smiled and confirmed.

"So, what happened after that?"

"He invited me over to watch all three _**Back to the Future**_ movies tomorrow afternoon." Anita told her, trying to keep the grimace on her face out of her voice.

"Now that sounds like a romantic afternoon." Josie laughed in amusement.

"I know, doesn't it!" Anita laughed sarcastically. "But hey, its a start. At least this time _he_ asked _me_."

"That's definitely a step in the right direction." Josie acknowledged with a chuckle. "Maybe there's hope for him yet."

"Maybe." Her friend agreed secretly hoping that there might be some hope for her and Gus. "So what are you and Mr. Coulson doing tomorrow?"

"I'm helping him move." Josie replied excitedly.

"Move?" Anita's eyes widened in surprise. "Don't tell me he's moving in with you already!"

"No!" Josie quickly exclaimed, her cheeks flushing at the thought. "He's moving to an apartment closer to the school."

"Uh, huh." Anita acknowledged expectantly.

"It's a cute little place over on Elmwood Drive." Her friend continued.

"Three blocks away from you." Anita mused thoughtfully, then in a teasing tone added. "Convenient."

"Anita, he sighed the lease for the apartment _two months_ ago!" The younger woman informed her seriously. "It's just a coincidence that its so close to my place."

"I bet it is." Her friend replied, completely unconvinced.

"What do you mean by that?" Josie asked, sounding a little annoyed at her friend's knowing remark.

"I just mean that I'll bet you anything that if you asked him if part of the reason he took that apartment was to be near you he'd say 'yes'." Anita told her seriously.

"But two months ago we hardly knew each other." Josie pointed out. "Besides how would he know my address?"

"Josie, it would hardly take a genius to find out your address." Her friend told her. "Besides, he probably had it in his Student Roster. The office probably gave it to him shortly after you enrolled."

"I don't think I had anything to do with his choice of apartment." The younger woman continued to deny.

"You won't know unless you ask him." Anita told her.

"But..."

"Ask him!" The older woman exclaimed firmly, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

"All right, I'll ask him!" Josie cried out in surrender.

"Good." Anita grinned triumphantly into the phone.

Sam woke up early Sunday morning to the sun shinning in his bedroom window. Today was the day he was moving into his new apartment. He'd taken possession of it on the fifteenth of the month, but with preparation for finals and the Prom he hadn't had the chance to do much in the way of moving. He'd planned on doing the bulk of his packing done yesterday since his best friend, Jonathan was coming with his pickup truck today to help him move his stuff over to the other apartment. But when Rob Geller had invited him to join the family for a BBQ yesterday evening, Sam knew that his packing would have to wait until later. There was no way he was going to miss the opportunity to spend time with Josie. Especially now that things had finally gotten straightened out between them.

He'd been so pleased when she'd offered to help him pack today. That meant spending another day with her. He knew he was going to have to savor each and every moment of the day since starting tomorrow they were going to have to go back to pretending that they were just student and teacher. He didn't know if he'd be able to make it through a day, let alone a week of pretending that she didn't mean anything more to him than any of his other students. Like he'd said to Josie's father the night before, he was going to have to rely on his High School Drama Club days to get through the coming few days.

His one consolation was the fact that at least they both knew how they felt about each other. There were no more guessing games or charades with each trying to figure out where they stood with the other. Despite the fact that they couldn't yet announce it to the rest of the world, they both knew that they were in love and that regardless of what happens, they would be there for each other. Closing his eyes he replayed the memory of their first kiss – _her_ first kiss. His heart had started to pound so hard when she'd told him that he was the first man that she'd ever really kissed. He knew that she had given him the most precious gift in the world. Nobody but him had ever kissed _his_ Josie. "And nobody ever will." He whispered solemnly to himself.

Glancing at the clock beside his bed he'd decided that he'd better get up and moving. Josie would be there in less than an hour and he still needed to shower and get dressed before she arrived. Throwing the covers off of him he got up and began his morning routine.

It was scarcely half an hour later when Sam heard a light knock on his apartment door. Quickly pulling a white T-shirt over his head he padded out to the living room in his bare feet. Looking through the peephole he was both surprised and delighted to find Josie on the other side of the door.

"Good morning, beautiful." He greeted as he pulled open the door. "I wasn't expecting you yet."

"I know I'm early." She quickly apologized. "I hope I'm not disturbing you." Holding up a cardboard tray she held in her hand she explained. "I just thought we could have breakfast together before we got started. I got coffee and muffins."

"You're a lifesaver." He smiled broadly at her. "I haven't had a chance to put the coffee on yet and I'm almost dying for a cup." He gestured for her to come in, closing the door behind her. Relieving her of the tray he leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. When he pulled away he grinned mischievously and teased. "That's what I call an appetizer."

Josie blushed slightly and playfully responded. "Wait until you see what I brought for the main course."

Sam gave her a surprised smile and led her to the couch. "So what did you get?" He asked curiously as they settled on the sofa.

"I got three different kinds of muffins, since I wasn't sure what kind you liked." Taking the paper bag off the tray she opened it and asked. "Would you like blueberry, apple cinnamon or chocolate chip."

"Touch choice." Sam commented thoughtfully. "But I think I'll start with the chocolate chip."

Josie grinned slightly as she pulled a chocolate chip muffin from the bag. "That's my favorite kind."

"Did you want it?" He asked, offering it back to her.

Shaking her head she pulled another chocolate chip muffin out of the bag. "Thanks, but I got two of each kind."

"Just to make sure that you got your morning sugar fix, eh?" He teased as he started peeling the paper off the bottom of his muffin.

As they ate Josie glanced curiously around the apartment, taking in the collection of sports pictures and trophies that lined the walls and several shelves, each item proving just how much Sam loved athletics. There were also several shelves and bookcases lined with books, evidence of his deep love of literature. Josie always felt that you could tell a lot about a person by how they decorated their apartment. And everything she saw confirmed to her the things she loved and admired most about Sam.

"Are you casing the place?" Sam teased as Josie's eyes passed over the room a second time.

Josie blushed and dropped her gaze to the muffin she was holding. "I'm sorry." She apologized contritely. "I didn't mean to snoop."

"Hey, it's okay." He quickly told her, reaching over and lifting her chin so she'd look at her. "I was only teasing. I don't mind you looking around. In fact, you're free to look around as much as you like."

Josie's eyes lit up slightly as she scanned the room again. When her eyes fell on his many trophies she rose and moved closer so she could examine them better. She couldn't help but smile when she spotted one that read: _Most Improved Player 1982_. Picking it up she turned towards him and grinned. "Did you get this one after your father bought you that Gordie Howe helmet?"

Sam chuckled slightly and nodded. "I told you I got better." As Josie returned the trophy to its place he commented seriously. "You know I should have realized when I told that story that you were older than seventeen."

"Why's that?" She asked curiously as she continued to examine his trophies.

"Because you were the only one that showed any sort of recognition when I mentioned Gordie Howe." He told her with a smirk. "All the other kids gave me blank stares and confused looks like I was from some other planet or something."

"You are." She teased as she returned to his side. "You're _old_."

"Gee, thanks." He drawled slightly, then looking at her wickedly he added. "But don't forget, you're almost as old as I am."

"Don't remind me." She moaned in exaggerated agony. But then looking at him shyly she admitted. "But I'd rather be twenty-five and your girlfriend than seventeen and only your student."

Sam leaned over and gave her a tender kiss. "Me too." He assured her pulling away slightly.

"So, do you still play any sports?" Josie quizzed as she picked up her muffin again. "Besides pick up baseball games with my obsessed brother and his friends."

Sam shook his head sadly and admitted. "I use to, but not in the last couple years."

"What happen?" She asked with concern. "Did you get injured?"

"No." He shook his head again. "Lara didn't like me playing sports. She felt that I should be using that time to visit her and find a job in New York instead of wasting it on hockey or baseball. So, after too many fights to count, I gave up baseball and hockey hoping to make her happy. And it did, for a while then she was on me about other things."

"What kind of things?" Josie asked, but when Sam hesitated she blushed and apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be nosey. It's none of my business."

"Sure it is, Josie." He quickly assured her. "Everything about me is your business. I have nothing to hide from you, it's just that some things are harder to talk about than others."

"I know what you mean." Josie sympathized thinking back to when she told him about her first High School experience.

As if reading her mind, Sam nodded and said. "You do." They smiled at each other for several moments before turned his attention back to his coffee and replied to her previous question. "Lara didn't think that my job was good enough. She wanted me to give up teaching High School and apply at one of the local colleges or universities in New York. She thought that being a Professor was a much higher social standing than just being a Teacher. I didn't agree with her. I _love_ being a high school teacher. I love being around teenagers, helping to guide them in their future careers. I don't want to give it up." The last few words were said with decided firmness.

Reaching over and putting a hand on Sam's knee Josie gave it a reassuring squeeze. "And you shouldn't. Sam, you're a wonderful teacher. Everybody loves your class. You make literature come to life. Even Gibby, Kristen and Kirstin say how much they love your class, and they don't know anything about Shakespeare except for what you've told them." She chuckled slightly at a memory. "In fact, Kristen thinks that _Hamlet_ is a ham and lettuce sandwich."

"A ham and lettuce sandwich?" Sam repeated in amusement. "I see. I guess those blond roots are real. Unlike some peoples." He glanced at the top of her head knowingly.

"Sam!" She exclaimed, slapping his arm in mock annoyance. When their laughter subsided Josie reverted back to their original topic. "I think you should join a baseball team this summer."

"Really?" He looked at her in surprise.

"Sure, why not." She assured him. "After all, you have two whole months off, what better way to spend them then playing ball."

"But I want to spend time with you too." He told her seriously.

"Don't worry, we'll spend _lots_ of time together." She assured him. "I'll be there cheering you on at all your games."

"Really?" He gave her a broad smile. "You'd come watch me play?"

"Of course." She nodded. "After all, I won't have much else to do after Rigfort fires me for botching up this story."

Sam slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. "You're not going to get fired. You're going to find a really great story. One that will blow their socks off and make them wonder why on earth they ever doubted you. I promised I'd help you, don't forget and I will. We're in this together and we'll get through this together."

Josie turned her head to look at him tenderly. "I love you."

"I love you too." He told her before leaning down and kissing her gently.

When he pulled away Josie snuggled her head against his shoulder and told him honestly. "I really think you should join a team, though. If I do by some chance write a good enough story not to be fired than I'll be busy at the office during the week, so you'll have lots of time to yourself. Working out with a team may just be the thing to keep you out of trouble." A teasing tone edged her voice as she added. "Keep you away from the girls too."

"What are you talking about?" He replied, his tone also light and teasing. "Don't you know that girls just flock to the ball fields to meet the handsome and talented players. I'll probably have to fight them off with a stick."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Josie agreed, feel her stomach clench up slightly at the thought.

Noting the change in her tone Sam tightened his arm around her shoulders and promised. "I only have eyes for you, sweetheart. You're the only girl that I want." He kissed the side of her head before adding. "You have given me back so much of my life that I had let Lara take away, you've made me whole again in a way that nobody else could. And I will love you always."

"I love you too." She turned and kissed him again, her heart nearly exploding with the love she felt for this man.

They finished their breakfast while sharing some of their hopes, dreams and thoughts about a variety of different topics. Finally, after draining the last of his coffee, Sam sighed and glanced around the large living room. "Well, I guess we should get at it. Jon and Joanna will be here in a couple of hours to help move stuff to the new place."

At the mention of Sam's new apartment Josie remembered what Anita had said the night before about his new place being remarkably close to Josie's. Remembering her promise to Anita Josie took a deep breath and asked the question that she and her friend had been debating about the night before. "Sam, can I ask you a question?"

Seeing the nervous look on her face he immediately gave her his full attention. "Of course you can, sweetheart. I've told you that you can ask me anything you want."

"It's about the apartment that you're moving to." She explained. "Last night when I was telling Anita about it she made the observation that it was not too far from my place. Now I told her that it was just a coincidence, but she seemed to think that it was much more than that." A deep blush appeared on her cheeks as she added. "She made me promise to ask you if I had anything to do with you decision to take that apartment, but I told her she was crazy. You signed the lease in April, so there's no way I could be the reason – could there?"

Sam chuckled slightly at her agitated look and asked. "Did you two wager anything on the outcome of this question?"

"No." Josie replied, curious at the question. "Why?"

"Because you, my dearest loveliest Josie would have lost the wager." He gave her a broad smile.

"Really?" She gave him a surprised look. "You really picked that apartment because of me?"

"I had narrowed it down to two different apartments." He explained seriously. "But that night when I was marking papers and marking the grades down in my book, I noticed that your address was just a few blocks away from the one, so that's the one I decided to go with."

Josie flushed slightly as she remarked. "I guess I'll have to tell Anita that she was right. I'll be in for a big 'I told you so'. Oh, well, I think I can handle it. In fact I'm kind of glad that I have to hear it."

Sam gave her a tender smile. "Me too."

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Josie asked, changing the subject a few moments later.

Smiling knowingly he asked. "Want to pack up all my books?" He gestured towards the two large bookcases in the corner of the living room that were full of books.

"Sure!" Josie's eyes sparkled eagerly as she took in the collection of books adorning his shelves. "It'll give me a chance to scope out your selection and your tastes."

"Go to it." He encouraged, knowing that that was a task that she would thoroughly enjoy. As Josie pulled a couple of volumes from the case he added. "When you're done there, there's more books in the bedroom." He pointed towards the room in question.

Curious, Josie moved towards his bedroom, her eyes widening in awe at the sight of the large bookcase beside his bed. Even the headboard held a few volumes of their own. "This is incredible!" She exclaimed as she moved closer to the shelves so that she could read the titles they held.

Sam chuckled at her enthusiasm and turned to grab a box. He had just started wrapping some of his trophies when there was a knock at the door. Setting the trophy in the box he rose and answered the door. "Jon? Joanna?" He looked at his best friend and his wife in surprise. "What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you until after ten."

"We thought we'd come over earlier and help you do some packing." Jon replied as he and Joanna entered the apartment. "We figured you'd probably need all the help you could get." Glancing around the apartment he chuckled. "Looks like I was right."

"I was just getting started." Sam told him defensively. "It's still early."

"And it'll take you all day by yourself." Jon commented as he shrugged out of his jacket and laid it over the back of the couch. "I thought you were going to start packing yesterday."

"I was." Sam admitted. "But I ended up having other plans."

"I see." Jon nodded as he grabbed an empty box and a stack of newspapers. "Procrastinating Sam strikes again."

"I wasn't procrastinating!" Sam objected seriously. "I had something very important come up."

"Uh, huh." Jonathan acknowledged in a teasing manner causing Sam to grab and pillow and toss it at him playfully.

"Okay, boys." Joanna interrupted with a good-natured laugh. "We're here to work, not play. Sam, what should I do? Want me to pack up your books?"

"Actually, somebody's already doing that." Sam told her a broad smile lighting his face.

"Someone else is here?" Jonathan asked in surprise. "Who?"

Before Sam could answer a crash came from the other room which was punctuated by a yelp of surprise. Concern creased Sam's brow as he rushed to his bedroom door. "Honey, are you all right?"

As he disappeared into the other room Joanna turned to her husband and whispered tersely. "I thought you said that Lara was out of the picture."

"I thought Sam told me she was." Jonathan told her honestly. "I'm sure he said that they had broken up last week." Before either could comment again, Sam emerged from the bedroom with a blond-haired woman in his arms.

"Sam, I'm fine!" The young woman was protesting adamantly as he headed towards the couch and gently set her down. "It was just a little bump."

"It wasn't just a little bump." He told her seriously. "You got quite a nasty bump there." He gently touched the growing lump on the top of her head and suggested. "Maybe we should have a doctor look at that."

Josie shook her head and protested even harder. "All he's going to tell me is that I have a bump on the head. Sam, I'm fine, really. It's just a little bump. All I need is an ice pack and a couple Advil and I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" He continued to fret.

"I'm positive." She assured him. "Trust me, I have a hard head. It comes from Rob bouncing so many foul balls off me when we were kids." Sam gave her a slight smile before going for the ice pack and the pills.

When he left the room Josie moaned slightly and reached up to gingerly touch the tender spot on her head, flinching slightly when her finger made contact. Lifting her other hand she glared angrily at her attacker, which she'd retrieved off the floor just before Sam had arrived. Shaking the object slightly she scolded. "I'll never forgive you for this." She chuckled slightly to herself and gave her head a gentle shake. It was then that she realized that she wasn't alone. "Oh, hello." She acknowledged when her eyes fell upon Jonathan and Joanna, who were standing behind the couch watching her curiously. Josie blushed slightly under their scrutiny and lifted the large, hardcover book she held in her hand. "The _Count_ and I had a little accident."

Jonathan grinned slightly and commented. "I certainly wouldn't want to tangle with the _Count of Monte Cristo_. Especially not with a cover that hard looking."

Josie smiled and ruefully rubbed her head again. "It doesn't just _look_ hard. That'll teach me to reach for a book that's over my head." The three of them laughed lightly at her comment as Sam returned with ice, pills and water."

"Here you go, sweetheart." Sam said as he handed her the pills and the water. Sitting down beside her he watched as she swallowed the pills and then drained the glass of water. Setting the empty glass down on the coffee table she reached for the ice pack, but Sam moved it out of reach. "Just a sec." He admonished as he settled himself back into the corner of the couch, swinging one of his legs up. He then reached for Josie, motioning for her to slide back towards him. She hesitated nervously for a moment until Sam lightly teased. "I promise not to bite." Giving him a shy smile she finally obliged and carefully slid herself towards him until her back was leaning against his chest. Once she was settled, Sam wrapped one arm around her to pull her closer while he lifted the other to gently apply the ice pack to the bump on the side of her head. "How's that?"

"Fine." Josie blushed and cast her eyes down shyly until Sam brushed a gentle kiss on the side of her head. Lifting her eyes to meet his she gave him a gentle smile.

"Okay, Sam Coulson, you have some big time explaining to do." Jonathan's voice interrupted the love-struck pair, causing Josie to jump and Sam to chuckle. Turning their attention from each other and to the other couple Josie's cheeks flushed bright red in embarrassment while Sam's smile nearly split his.

"Josie, may I present two of my oldest and dearest friends, Jonathan and Joanna Harper. Jonathan's the impolite one." Sam added the last in a stage whisper.

"Nice to meet you." Josie acknowledged shyly.

"Jon, Jo may I present the very lovely and talented Josie Geller." With a proud smile he added. "Who also happens to be my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Jonathan and Joanna repeated in unison.

"Did you say girlfriend?" Jonathan added, his eyebrows raising in complete surprise. Sam nodded his head in confirmation.

"Does this mean that Lara's history?" Joanna pressed eagerly.

"Lara and I broke up last week." Sam told her matter-of-factly.

"Finally!" Joanna sighed gratefully. "I'm so glad that you finally came to your senses about her and got rid of that little no good hussy once and for all. She was definitely not good enough for you."

Josie raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I didn't think she seemed all that bad."

"How well do you know her?" Joanna questioned suspiciously.

"I don't, not really." Josie admitted honestly. "I only met her for about two minutes at Delloser about a month ago. I had just run into Sam and she joined us."

"And let me guess." Joanna interrupted. "She was dressed in a suit probably with a mini skirt looking like she'd just stepped out of a beauty parlor and she hung onto Sam's arm as if she was afraid that you were going to snatch him up right then and there. Oh, and let me not forget to mention that she was probably complaining about something or someone."

"Actually," Josie cast a hesitant look at Sam before confirming. "You're right about everything."

"Of course I am." The other woman commented confidently. "I've watched her act like that for the last five years. She treated Sam and all his friend's like dirt."

"I take it that you and Lara are not very good friends." Josie observed seriously.

"That's the understatement of the century." Jonathan replied with a knowing laugh. "There's definitely no love lost between Jo and Lara. But then again, there isn't much love lost between Lara and a lot of people, including Sam." He looked at his best friend seriously.

"You're right." Sam admitted honestly as he lifted the arm he had around her waist so he could stroke her hair tenderly. "I never knew what love was until I met Josie." When she turned her head to smile at him lovingly he added. "I can honestly say that I was never _in love_ until she came into my life." Josie blushed slightly and looked down in embarrassed pleasure.

"So when and how did you two meet?" Joanna asked curiously as she sat on the couch at Sam and Josie's feet, while Jonathan took the armchair near them.

"We met in March." Sam told them. "Josie came into my Senior Lit class as a transfer student."

"A transfer student?" Both Jonathan and Joanna looked at Sam in alarm.

"Josie's one of your students?" Joanna couldn't believe her ears. What was Sam thinking? He could get into so much trouble if the school found out that he was dating one of his students. And what about when Josie's parents found out? Would they think that Sam was trying to take advantage of his position as her teacher? This whole situation spelt nothing but trouble.

"On paper, Josie is one of my students." Sam admitted truthfully. "But in reality she isn't."

"Excuse me?" Joanna gave him a completely perplexed look. "Want to run that one by me again?"

"It's a long story." Sam told her seriously. "But it's up to Josie as to whether or not you can hear it." Tightening his arm around her waist again he asked. "Is it okay if I fill them in on everything?"

Josie hesitated for a moment, then replied cautiously. I guess it's okay. They are two of your closest friends and besides they wouldn't know Gus, so they couldn't tell on me for telling you the truth."

"Gus who?" Jonathan asked curiously.

"Gus Strauss." Josie told him.

"Gus Strauss!" Jonathan exclaimed in obvious surprise. "Augustus Strauss?"

"You know him?" Josie asked nervously.

"Never heard of him." Jonathan admitted honestly, his eyes twinkling mischievously as he gave her a teasing smile.

Josie couldn't help but laugh at the expression in Jonathan's blue eyes. Turning her head towards Sam she smiled and told him happily. "I think I'm really going to like you're friends!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Finis!" Josie exclaimed as she finished sealing and labeling the final box.

"Finally!" Joanna heaved a dramatic sigh of relief and collapsed into the recliner wearily. "I had no idea how much stuff one lone bachelor could have. He had what? About five boxes of books alone?"

"Six." Josie corrected from where she was still sitting on the floor. "Plus three for his hockey and baseball trophies."

"Well, if you weren't aware of it before, than I'm sure you're convinced of it now." Joanna commented with a laugh. "Sam is both an avid bookworm and a fanatic sports nut."

"Well that suits me just fine." Josie remarked honestly. "Because I'm a bookworm and a sports nut too."

"I'm glad." Joanna admitted seriously, giving the other woman a warm smile. Ever since Sam had told her and Jon the story behind how he and Josie had met, Joanna had found herself liking the younger woman more and more. What had impressed her the most about their story, was the fact that Josie was willing to give up her dream of being a reporter because she loved Sam much more. She was obviously a young woman who had her priorities straight. That was definitely one thing that she had on Lara, who put her career above everything and everyone else.

"You know, speaking of sports." Josie commented thoughtfully. "One thing I was kind of hoping to see was Sam's Gordie Howe helmet."

"His Gordie Howe helmet?" Joanna repeated in surprise.

"Yeah, the autographed one his dad bought him during his first year of peewee hockey." Josie explained. "Doesn't he still have it? I got the impression that it meant a lot to him."

"It did mean a lot to him." Joanna acknowledged before adding bitterly. "Which is way _Princess Lara_ threw it out."

"What?" Josie exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. "She threw it out? Why?"

"Because she was angry that he was spending so much time playing hockey instead of visiting with her." Joanna explained, her tone still crisp.

"Sam told me that she didn't like him playing baseball and hockey." Josie told her. "But that certainly didn't give her any right to throw out Sam's stuff."

"Lara does whatever Lara wants to do." Joanna remarked tersely. "She doesn't care in the least who she hurts. In fact I think she relishes hurting people."

"No wonder you didn't like her." Josie acknowledged.

"That was a big part of it." The other woman agreed. "There was never much love lost between me and Lara, even in the beginning. Jonathan and I had been dating since we were seventeen, yet Lara still viewed me as a possible rival for Sam's attention since he and I were good friends. I love Sam, but he's never been more than like a brother to me."

"So I don't have to view you as a possible rival then." Josie teased, giving the other woman a mischievous smile.

"Not in the least." Joanna replied with a reassuring smile.

"Good, because I'd like to be able to view you as a friend." The younger woman admitted honestly.

"I'd like that too." Joanna assured her warmly. The two women smiled at each other as Jonathan and Sam entered the apartment.

"How's it coming?" Sam asked the two women as he collapsed on the couch and reached for Josie's hand.

"We just finished packing the last box." Joanna informed him. "All there's left to go is the furniture and about four boxes."

"Well, Matt and Scott are suppose to be here about five to help us load the big furniture." Sam told Jonathan.

Checking his watch Jonathan remarked. "They should be here anytime then. It's almost five now."

"Well I suppose we could move some of the lighter pieces down to the truck." Sam suggested. "That way when Matt and Scott get here we just have a few pieces left to take out."

"Sounds like a plan." Jonathan acknowledged as he pulled himself back to his feet. "The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get something to eat. I'm starved."

As the two men moved off to organize the furniture Josie moved from the floor to the couch. "I didn't realize that packing up an apartment was such hard work."

"Do you have your own place, or do you still live at home?" Joanna asked curiously.

"I have my own place." Josie replied. "I moved out of home about five years ago when I started working at the Chicago Sun-Times. I figured I was making my own money, so I might as well be out on my own."

"That's quite a mature attitude for a twenty year old." Joanna commented, deeply impressed by her words. No wonder Sam thought he was a mature seventeen year old. She probably was when she was seventeen. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I have one brother." Josie replied. "His name is Rob. He's twenty three and he still lives at home."

"Boys never seem to mature as fast as girls do." Joanna commented.

"Rob's okay." Josie defended. "In fact a lot of times I don't know what I'd do without him. He's a pretty terrific brother as far as younger brothers go. In fact he's helped me out a lot on this assignment. There's no way I could have gotten in with the 'in crowd' without his help. He's always been popular, where as I've always been a geek."

"I wouldn't call you a geek." Her new friend quickly objected. "I think you're a very nice, well educated young woman who is absolutely perfect for Sam. I can't tell you the last time I've seen him so happy. You obviously have a good effect on him."

Josie blushed slightly, pleased yet embarrassed by the compliment. "Thanks."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. "That's not mine!" Sam called from the other room. "All my phones are packed in boxes!"

Josie jumped up and grabbed her purse off the kitchen counter. Just as she suspected the ringing was coming from inside. "Hello?" Josie answered after fishing her cellphone out of her bag.

"Hey, Jos." Rob's voice greeted her on the other end.

"Hi Rob, what's up?" There had been something about his greeting that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"I'm at Nana's." He told her seriously. "I just ran into Aldys and she was _very_ upset."

"How upset?" Josie queried.

"Crying upset." Rob replied.

"Why is she so upset?" Josie asked with deep concern.

"It seems that I wasn't the only one that saw you and Sam kissing outside of Prom the other night." Her brother reported grimly.

"Aldys saw us?" Josie's eyes widened in alarm.

"Apparently." Rob confirmed. "She came out looking for you after she saw you leave with Mr. C and then heard through the grapevine that you were going to be talking about college. Wanting to ask him something about her own application she followed you out. I guess she got out there just in time to find you two kissing on the bench."

"But didn't she see you come out and wonder why you weren't surprised or upset by what was happening?" His sister asked, trying to put the whole situation together.

"She left before I came out." He replied, then after a brief pause added. "She's really upset about it, Jos. She even asked me if I thought she should report Mr. C. to the school authorities."

Josie closed her eyes against that piece of information. Reaching up she pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried desperately to think of a solution to the situation. "Where is she now?"

"She's still here." Rob told her. "I promised her that I'd help her get to the bottom of this." He paused again before carefully suggesting. "I think you need to tell her the truth, Josie. She's really mad at Sam right now. She feels hurt, angry and betrayed by her favorite teaching and worried out of her mind about you."

"I'll talk to her." Josie assured him. "Think you can convince her to meet me at my place? I'll tell her everything now."

"I'll have her there in twenty minutes." He promised.

"Thanks, Rob." Josie acknowledged. "You may have just prevented Sam from loosing his job. I owe you one."

"You owe me a whole lot more than one." He teased lightly. "After this assignment of yours is over I expect a big payback for all my hard work."

"How about all you can eat pizza and tickets to any baseball game of you choice." She offered with a knowing grin.

"Deal!" He accepted eagerly. "See you in twenty."

"Bye, Rob." As Josie hung up the phone Sam and Jonathan came through the bedroom door with Sam's mattress between them.

"Who's phone was that?" Sam asked curiously as they propped the mattress against the wall.

"It was mine." Josie told him a little distractedly.

"Who was it?" He pressed, noting her preoccupation.

"It was Rob." She told him, finally making eye contact with him. "He just ran into Aldys at Nana's and she was very upset."

"What about?" Sam asked with obvious concern.

Looking into Sam's worried face she said. "She saw us kissing outside of Prom." Sam's face paled slightly as Josie continued. "She's thinking of reporting it to the school authorities." Seeing how white his face had gone she quickly put a comforting hand on his arm as she assured him. "I'm going to talk to her. I'm going to tell her everything before things getting any more out of hand."

"Are you sure?" He asked, his concern deepening. "What about your job?"

"My job is of least importance here." She told him seriously. "If Aldys goes to the school authorities with this, then your reputation and moral character will be called into question. Chances are they'll want to investigate and even though I'm not really seventeen, the whole thing could get ugly. You know how people love a scandal and even if the accused is innocent they'll still try to tarnish your reputation just to make themselves look good." Looking at Sam she shook her head determinedly. "I _will not_ let you go through that. The only thing to do is to stop this thing before it gets started. Like I told you at Prom, you're much more important to me than my job is. I can always get working somewhere else, doing something else if I have to but I will not let you be forced out a teaching because of me."

Sam, mildly comforted, pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "You are amazing, Josie Geller." Hugging her tighter he added. "I love you."

"I love you too." She told him as she hugged him tightly back. "And don't worry about anything. I'll get this whole mess straightened out right away." I won't let you get in trouble because of my stupid mistakes." She promised him firmly. "I won't!"

About twenty minutes later there was a gentle knock on Josie's apartment door. Opening the door, Josie found a visibly upset Aldys standing on her doorstep.

"Thank goodness you're okay." Aldys surprised her by pulling her into a tight embrace. "I've been so worried about you since Prom. I've tried calling you about a hundred times since then, but all I ever got was your machine. I left you about a dozen messages but you never called me back. I thought maybe Mr. Coulson had kidnapped you or something."

"I'm fine." Josie quickly assured her friend as they released each other. "Why don't you have a seat." She offered as she reached over to close her apartment door. "You and I have a lot to talk about."

"I should say we do." Aldys agreed as she waited for Josie than followed her to the couch. "What was going on at Prom between you and Mr. Coulson? How could he kiss you like that? Josie, what are you going to do?"

"Calm down, Aldys." Josie gently admonished her friend as she reached out to put a comforting hand on her arm. "It's not what it looks like."

"Not what it looks like?" Aldys exclaimed in disbelief as she looked at her friend incredulously. "Josie, I came outside and fond you and Mr. Coulson _kissing_. You and Mr. Coulson, our _teacher_. I just don't understand how he could do such a thing. I always thought he was a very straight-laced, by the book teacher who would never use his position to take advantage of a student. Josie, I trusted him and I don't trust many people."

"Aldys!" Josie cried, trying to get her distraught friend's attention. "Before you have Mr. Coulson tarred and feathered I have something that I need to tell you."

"What?" Her friend looked at her anxiously. "What is it?"

Josie hesitated for a moment while she collected her thoughts then she looked her friend right in the eye and admitted. "I'm not a high school student. I'm really an undercover reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times."

"What?" The younger woman exclaimed, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "You're a reporter?"

Nodding in confirmation Josie continued to explain. "I graduated from High School eight years ago, then went to Northwestern for three years studying English Literature and Journalism. For the last five years I've been working as a copy editor for the Chicago Sun-Times, but my greatest dream is to be a reporter. Well, in March my dream finally came true when our publisher, Mr. Rigfort decided he wanted to have an undercover story done on high school kids today and since I was the only member of the staff that looked about the right age I was given the assignment. And that's what brought me to South Glen South."

"So Mr. Coulson knew that you weren't his student, but an undercover reporter when he kissed you on Friday?" Aldys commented, the anxiety that she'd been feeling for days finally giving way to understanding.

"I had just told him the truth about myself." Josie informed her.

"He sure didn't waste anytime acting on that information." Her friend observed, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Are you sure there wasn't anything going on between you two before that."

"There was something going on." Josie admitted honestly. "There was a lot of admiration and appreciation and respect. And I'll admit that there was a certain amount of attraction too." Pausing for a moment she contemplated her next words. "Because you've been such a good friend to me since we met, and since we've caused you so much heartache and worry the last few days I'll confide something to you. I've been in love with Sam almost since the first day I met him."

"You have?" Aldys exclaimed in surprise then pressed curiously. "And how did he feel about you?"

"Sam also felt a certain attraction for me, but contrary to what you first thought he was beating himself up for it." Josie told her. "He felt like a real heal for falling for one of his students. He's still not completely comfortable about the thought but consoles himself with the fact that since I'm really twenty-five than I probably acted like a very mature seventeen year old."

"You did." Aldys admitted. "That's one of the reasons I liked you so much. You weren't flighty and shallow like most of the other girls. Though I must admit I was starting to doubt your maturity when you started hanging around with the 'lemmings'."

Josie chuckled in amusement at the term. "Trust me, I would have much sooner hung around with you and the Denominators. But I had to try to 'infiltrate' the in-crowd for my story."

"I have to admit that I was a little hurt when you started hanging around with them." Aldys confided. "When we met, I thought that I had finally found a best friend that I could hang around with. One that seemed to have the same interests as me and who was viewed by the popular kids the same way that I was. But when you got accepted by them I felt like I really was a loser."

"You're not a loser!" Josie quickly assured her. "You're smart and fun and you have a lot more going for you than Gibby, Kirstin or Kristen."

"Really?" The younger girl looked at her friend hopefully.

"Really." Josie confirmed. "And I hope that even though we're not the same age we can still be really good friends."

Aldys hesitated for a moment before asking a little shyly. "Would you mind if I still considered you my best friend?"

"I'd be honored." Josie assured her. "And I'd be happy to consider you one of mine. That is if you don't mind sharing the title with someone else."

"If she doesn't, I won't." Aldys assured her. "Maybe someday the three of us could be best friends."

"Quite likely." Josie agreed with a knowing smile. "Anita is a very big hearted, loving person."

"When do I get to meet her?" Her friend asked eagerly.

"Actually you already have." Josie told her with a mischievous grin.

"I have? When?"

"You remember 'Pam Kitterman'?" The older girl asked, her eyes dancing with fun.

"You mean the Sex-Ed speaker we had?" Aldys asked in a puzzled tone.

"That's the one." Josie nodded. "'Pam' was actually my friend Anita Brandt who happened to be in the wrong place at the right time."

Aldys laughed at the humor behind that story. "She did a good job. She must be well acquainted with the subject."

"And how." Josie exclaimed knowingly. "Just don't get her started. But I have to tell you, the fact that Pam is actually Anita is a secret that only four people know about and we want to keep it that way."

"Only four people?" Aldys repeated, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "You and me and I'm assuming Mr. Coulson are three, but who's the fourth?"

"Rob." Josie told her.

"Rob?" Again surprise showed on the younger girl's face but then after a moment her expression turned thoughtful. "What's the deal with you and Rob anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Her friend asked curiously.

"Well, he arrived shortly after you do and instantly you too are as thick as thieves and then next thing I know the two of you are in with the popular kids." Aldys commented, her eyes narrowing with mock-suspicion. "If I didn't know better I'd swear I smell a rat."

"I know Rob can smell bad, but I don't know if I'd call him a rat." Josie teased lightly. Rising to her feet she moved to pick up a photo of herself and Rob that was taken at his graduation. Handing it to Aldys she said. "Rob is my younger brother. He became my self-appointed popularity manager after hearing me moan about not being able to get into the in-crowd. He was always popular in school, were as I wasn't." When Aldys handed her back the photo she looked at it warmly and said. "Rob's been pretty great through all of this."

"How old is Rob?" Aldys asked as Josie returned the picture to it's spot.

"Twenty-three going on fifteen." Josie laughed as she sat down in the armchair. "Actually, he's not that bad."

Hesitating slightly her friend finally asked. "I'll be eighteen in six weeks. Do you think he'd be interested in going out with an eighteen year old?"

Josie gave her friend a surprised look. "Aldys Wells! Don't tell me you have a crush on Rob!" The blush on her cheeks gave her away. A delighted smile spread across Josie's face. "That's great!"

A relieved smile tugged at Aldys mouth. "You really think so?"

"Of course I think so!" Josie assured her. "I think you'd be good for Rob, as long as you like baseball, pizza and baseball, in that order."

"I _love_ pizza and I'm a pretty big Cub fan." She told her friend.

"Well than you and my brother should get along just fine." Josie laughed. "Speaking of Rob, where is the big nut?"

"Waiting down in the car." Aldys said. "He said he'd drive me home after we talked."

"That was nice of him." Josie commented as she got up and walked to the window. Looking out she laughed and reported. "He's down there talking to his car."

Aldys jumped up and joined her at the window. "He was doing that on the way over too. I've never had a three way conversation that included a car before."

Josie laughed. "He actually talked to Bambi while you were in the car? That is even weirder than him talking to it when he's alone. I always knew my brother was strange, but now I'm thinking he's insane."

"He's not that bad." Aldys defended causing Josie to look at her in amusement. "What?"

"Girl, you've got it bad!" Josie teased as she gave the other girl a warm smile.

"I'm starved!" Jonathan exclaimed as he flopped down on the couch, which was now sitting in Sam's new apartment. "You guys ready to go get something to eat?"

"I'm ready!" Matt Reilly exclaimed as he flopped down beside his friend.

"I'm more than ready!" Scott Romano echoed sitting in the recliner. "How about you, Sam?"

"Uh, huh." A distracted Sam grunted from his spot before his living room window. From there he had an unobstructed view of the front door of his apartment building.

"Sam? Earth to Sam!" Matt called out, trying to get his friend's attention. When Sam looked at him blankly he asked with concern. "Are you okay? You seem so distracted today."

"I'm fine." Sam replied, not very convincingly as he turned his attention back to the window.

"Sam, everything will be fine." Joanna told her friend comfortingly as she approached him and put a hand on his arm. "She'll get it all straightened out."

"I hope so." He said with deep feeling as he continued to look out the window. Than after a moment he turned his gaze to her and added firmly. "Because giving her up isn't an option, Joanna and I now that that's what it'll come down do if the school finds out about us. I won't loose her, Joanna. I _won't_!"

"I'm sure it won't come to that kind of decision." Joanna assured him sincerely. "Josie said she was going to handle everything and I trust her to do that. She's not going to let anything happen to you or your job, Sam. I think she made that perfectly obvious."

"I know." He nodded. "I guess I just have to have faith in her."

"I know I do." She told him honestly. Sam gave her a warm smile, but before he could say anything a knock at the door caused him to jump slightly. "That's probably her." Joanna commented softly. Sam nodded. It was all he could do as he was trying desperately to keep from flying to the door. He managed to keep himself rooted to his spot by the window while Matt opened the door.

"Well hello there, good-looking." Matt grinned broadly at the blond-haired woman he found standing out in the hallway. "How can I help you?"

"Is this Sam Coulson's new apartment?" Josie asked, suddenly worried that she'd gotten the wrong address.

"Yes it is." Matt confirmed with a nod. "Are you his new pizza delivery girl?" He gestured to the pizza boxes that she held in her hands.

Josie chuckled slightly. "I guess you could call me that. Though I do have a little help." She glanced at Aldys and Rob who were also carrying bags of food. "We brought supper."

"Well then come in." Matt opened the door wider and welcomed them in. "I can never turn away a beautiful woman, especially one carrying an arm load of pizzas." After the trio entered the apartment Matt closed the door and then relieved Josie of her burdens. "Here, let me take those. I'll just go and put them in the kitchen and then when I get back maybe you and I can get better acquainted." He winked at her before disappearing into the other room an amused Aldys and Rob following him with their own bundles.

"Who was that?" Josie asked Sam when he appeared at her side.

"That's Matt Reilly. He's a bit of a flirt, but he's harmless." Sam told her, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" She asked when she noted the expression.

"Can I assume from the fact that you brought Aldys over that she's okay with what you told her?" Sam asked, a hint of worry in his tone.

"She was perfectly okay with everything once I explained to her what was really going on." Josie assured him. "In fact she's very happy for us and still wants to be friends."

Sam heaved a great sigh of relief and pulled Josie tightly to him. Burying his face in her hair he said. "That's good, because I knew that if push came to shove that I could never let you go no matter what the consequences." Pulling back to look into her face he smiled. "I love you, Josie Geller. I love you very much."

"I love you too." She gave him a broad smile. Sam smiled back and leaned down to give her a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Hey!" Matt's loud exclamation interrupted the kissing pair. When Sam looked at him curiously he said. "Get your own girl! I saw her first!"

"Sorry Matt, but I saw her _way_ before you did!" Sam told his friend seriously.

"Oh yeah?" Matt challenged. "How way?"

"Way way!" The other man replied. "I met her back in March."

"Okay, I'll give you that you met her first." His friend conceded. "But I still put first dibs on her when she walked through the door."

"Sorry, pal." Sam grinned slyly at his friend. "But I had a prior claim on her that superceded your claim."

"What do you mean?" Matt asked curiously.

"What I mean is, Matt I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Josie Geller." Sam told his friend proudly.

"Girlfriend?" Matt repeated in surprise. "What happened to Lara?"

"We broke up last week." His friend informed him. "She and I are completely finished."

"Yes!" Matt exclaimed happily as he pumped a fist in the air. "There is a god!"

"Matt!" Joanna cried in a shocked tone. "Watch your mouth!"

"Yes mother!" Matt stuck his tongue out at Joanna before turning his attention back to Sam. "Well, since you finally ditched that witch of a Lara than I guess I can let you have Josie." He gave a dramatic sigh. "I hope you realize what a sacrifice this is. A beautiful woman like this doesn't come along just everyday."

Josie blushed a hot red, which managed to deepen even more when Sam echoed. "Don't I know it."

"Enough of this nonsense." Joanna interrupted, seeing how embarrassed Josie was getting. "You guys were all complaining earlier how hungry you were. Why don't we eat before everything gets cold."

"I'm with that suggestion!" Jonathan acknowledged as he jump off the couch and headed for the kitchen. "Last one there gets to eat the crumbs!"

"And he's not kidding." Coach Romano joked as he followed Jonathan into the other room.

"Come on, everyone." Joanna urged the Matt, Rob and Aldys into the kitchen. "We'd better get in there before Jon and Scott eat it all."

"They'd better not eat all my anchovies!" Rob called as he disappeared into the other room.

"Anchovies!" Matt's face screwed up into a pained grimace. "Don't tell me you actually ruined a good pizza by putting anchovies!"

"But of course!" Rob replied. "What better way can you think of to ensure that you get a pizza all to yourself."

As the rest of them disappeared into the kitchen Josie moved to follow them, but Sam stopped her by grabbing her by the hand. Josie looked at him curiously for several moments. "What is it, Sam?" She finally asked when he didn't say anything.

Raising a hand to her cheek he gently stroked it before finally saying. "I just wanted to thank you. I know how hard it must have been for you to tell Aldys the truth. I can't tell you how much that meant to me, Josie. After spending five years with a person who sacrificed everything for her career I can't tell you how nice it is to be with someone who would sacrifice her career for someone else. Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I expect you to sacrifice your career for me. I want your dream of being a reporter to come true. But it means a lot to me to know that if push came to shove that you would give up your career for me. Because I know that if push came to shove I'd do the same for you." Josie gave him a warm smile before surrendering completely to his loving kiss, the pair soon becoming completely oblivious to the excited din of their friends in the kitchen.

Josie smiled as her doorbell rang bright and early Monday morning. When she'd gotten home last night there had been a message on her machine from Anita dying to find out how things had gone at Sam's. After filling her in on all the details of the day, including the answer to the question she'd raised the night before, Anita had filled her in on her day with Gus.

"I don't want to watch another Christopher Lloyd movie as long as I live!" She moaned to Josie after she finished her tale. "I could barely tolerate that guy before today, now I absolutely can't stand him!"

"He's not that bad." Josie had commented. "Certainly not one of my favorite actors, but I certainly don't hate him."

"That's because you haven't been forced to sit through six hours of him." Anita pointed out. "You'd soon change your tune. Maybe I'll suggest to Sam that he have a _**Back to the Future**_ marathon too."

"Don't you dare, Anita Brandt!" Josie exclaimed in alarm. "Or I'll tell Gus you love to watch _**Dumb and Dumber**_." Both women shuddered at the thought of that movie.

After they'd finished talking they'd made plans to get together for breakfast. Anita promised to pick her up at seven so they could grab a quick breakfast together before heading off for work. And it appeared for once that Anita was right on time for her appointment.

"It's open!" Josie called, poking her head out of her bedroom. When she hard the front door open she ducked back inside the room to finish getting ready. "I'll be out in a minute, I wasn't expecting you yet. You're early." Without pausing for a reply she continued to say. "I am _so_ nervous about seeing Sam at school today, Anita. It is going to be so hard to pretend that he's just my teacher and not the man I love more than anything in the world. I don't know how I'm going to get through the day without accidentally letting something slip. Wouldn't everybody look if I walked into English class and planted a big kiss on Sam." She chuckled in amusement at the thought as she gave her reflection one final inspection. "So, how do I look?" She asked as she stepped out into the living room.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she heard Sam's voice reply with obvious amusement. "Beautiful."

"What are you doing here?" She asked in confusion, her eyes quickly scanning the room for her best friend.

"Well that sure is a warm greeting." He countered in a mock-hurt tone. "What happened to planting a big kiss on me?"

Josie blushed as he repeated her earlier statement. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting you. I thought it was Anita that came in. I wasn't expecting to see you until sixth period."

"Do you honestly think that I could have lasted that long without getting a kiss from my favorite girl?" Josie blushed again as Sam stepped up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "So, are you going to kiss me and put me out of my misery?"

Josie smiled in amusement. "Well, I do hate to see anyone suffer." Sam flashed her a warm smile as he leaned down and captured her lips with his. Josie responded by putting her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. They were still locked in each other's embrace when Josie's apartment door opened a few minutes later.

"Knock! Knock!" Anita Brandt's cheerful voice preceded her into the apartment. "Josie, I'm here! Are you ready for..." She stopped in her tracks when she saw Josie and Sam still wrapped in each others arms. "...breakfast?" She finished softly, silently kicking herself for interrupting the pair. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." She started backing her way out of the room. "I'll just catch up with you later, Josie."

"No, wait." Sam's voice stopped her in her tracks. Releasing Josie he continued. "Please, don't leave on my account. I didn't realize that you two had plans, so I brought breakfast with me."

"You did?" Josie looked at him in surprise.

He nodded. "I brought some bagels and cream cheese and some fresh croissants." He informed her, but then looking at Anita he added. "But if you two already had plans to go somewhere else I can just go..."

"Don't be silly." Anita quickly assured him. "Jos and I can do breakfast another time. I'll just go..."

"Why don't you both stay." Josie interrupted the pair laughingly. "I have orange juice in the fridge. We can have a nice breakfast right here. Sound okay to everyone."

"Sounds fine to me." Anita readily agreed.

"Sam?" Josie prompted, looking at him uncertainly.

"I'm certainly not about to say no to the chance of sharing breakfast with two such beautiful ladies such as yourselves." Placing his hands on her shoulders he leaned down and kissed the tip of Josie's nose, adding. "Anything to be able to spend some time with my precious Josie." Josie blushed as Sam turned his attention to Anita and added. "Besides, this will give me the opportunity to get to know the illustrious 'Pam Kitterman' better."

Anita chuckled and corrected. "Actually it's Anita, Anita Brandt."

"Well, I'm pleased to meet you Anita." Sam gave her a warm smile. "How about I get breakfast ready?" When Josie gave him a bright smile of approval he gave her another squeeze before releasing her and moving towards the kitchen.

An instant later Anita grabbed her arm and whispered seriously. "If you don't put a permanent claim on that wonderful man than I will."

Josie laughed and gave her friend an amused look. "Sorry, Anita. He's already spoken for. And for your information I do intend to put a permanent claim on him just as soon as he asks me."

"You are so lucky." Her friend told her enviously as they watched him poke through a few cupboards obviously looking for something. "I wish Gus was half as romantic as Sam is..."

"Honey, where do keep your plates?" The searcher finally inquired, having no success on his own finding the objects in question.

"Or as adorable." Anita finished as they moved to join Sam in the kitchen area.

Josie gave her friend another amused look before moving to Sam's side and showed him where her plates were. "Voila." She exclaimed, opening the cupboard door.

"Merci." He grinned as he dropped a kiss on her cheek before he pulled out one big plate and three little ones. Turning around he set them on the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room and opened the paper bag he'd set there earlier. As he set the bagels and croissants on the larger plate, Josie poured three glasses of orange juice. "Breakfast is served." He announced as he set the last bagel on the plate.

"Let's eat then." Josie said as she set the glasses with the juice on the counter. She felt a sudden chill of delight run through her body when Sam dropped a kiss on her neck before claiming one of the barstools. Josie and Anita sat on the other two.

As they each grabbed a bagel or croissant Anita decided to find out a little more about her best friend's boyfriend. "So Sam, how long have you been teaching at South Glen South?"

"Three years." Sam replied with a knowing smile. Some how he had the feeling that he was going to be put through yet another 'Are You Eligible to Date Josie' test. He didn't mind. He knew it was only because her friends and family cared about her so much. And actually Josie had been put through a similar test with Jon and Joanna yesterday when they'd found out that she was now Sam's girlfriend. He guessed it was just something to expect when they first start dating.

"And Josie told me that you went to Yale before that." Anita remarked, clearly impressed.

Sam nodded. "I graduated in '95. Majored in English Literature and minored in Creative Writing." Giving her a wicked grin he teased. "I can show you my school transcripts if you want."

"I'll let you know." Anita chuckled, knowing he was joking. "Let's see how well you do on the rest of this test."

"I knew it was a test." Sam exclaimed good-naturedly. "I knew this was another 'Are You Eligible to Date Josie' test!"

"Oh, you've already been through one of these?" The tester asked in surprise. "Who gave it?"

"Mr. Rob Geller and Mr. Tom Geller." Sam replied.

"Well, in that case I guess you've probably been thoroughly screened than." Anita commented with exaggerated disappointment. "I guess I don't have to work you over after all."

"That's a relief." Sam gave an exaggerated sigh. "I've seen you in action, frankly I was getting scared."

"Not fair!" Anita laughed as she slapped his arm playfully. "You're the one getting picked on here, not me."

"Hey!" Josie exclaimed in a mock-angry tone. "Don't hit my boyfriend!"

"Yeah!" Sam retorted back to Anita in fun.

"That's my job." Josie added, giving Sam's arm a light slap.

"Hey!" He pretended to give her a hurt look. "I didn't realize I was getting into an abusive relationship."

"I'm not abusive!" Josie denied. "I'm just feisty. There is a difference."

"I certainly hope so." He commented, looking her up and down seriously before pulling her in a warm embrace. "Because I don't mind being in a relationship with a feisty person, but I won't be in one with an abusive one. I've done that already and I don't want to ever do that again."

"Well I can guarantee, Mr. Coulson, that Josie is anything but abusive." Anita assured him sincerely. "She's in fact the most considerate, kind and loving person I know and you are the luckiest guy in the world to have her love and admiration."

"I know." Sam agreed, kissing the side of Josie's head lovingly. "I feel like the luckiest guy in the world."

"And I feel like the luckiest girl." Josie told him as he looked at him warmly. "I have a wonderful boyfriend." Looking at Anita she added. "And the greatest best friend." Then with a sigh she said dismally. "Now if only I could find a superb story."

Josie took a deep breath and climbed the front steps of South Glen South. This was definitely going to be a very difficult day. Not only did she have to pretend that Sam wasn't her boyfriend, but as Sam pointed out at breakfast this morning, she had to pretend that Guy was. Or that at least he was someone that she was interested in. Her only hope was that Guy didn't try to kiss her. She wasn't about to kiss anyone just to keep up her cover. The only person she was ever going to kiss was Sam. But she didn't want to hurt Guy's feeling either, especially since he did seem to be genuinely interested in her. She remembered his words as they danced together at the Prom. _You rock my world._ And the look in his eyes as he said it was proof that he meant it. No, she didn't want to hurt him.

As she passed through the metal detectors she noticed Rob, Guy and the rest of the 'in crowd' waiting for her just inside. They seemed quite engrossed in their conversation, each one of them talking animatedly about something. From what Josie could tell Rob was the 'audience' to everybody else's excited chatter.

Just then Gibby spotted her and lifted her hand to get her friend's attention. "Josie!"

Josie chuckled and returned the wave. When she reached the group she hugged each of the girls and gave the boys shy smiles. "Hi."

Rob threw an arm across her shoulders and said. "I've just been given the whole low down on the party we missed after Prom. Sounds like it was a really wing-ding."

"I'm sorry we had to miss it." Josie said as sincerely as possible. "I'm sure it would have been fun."

"So, Josie how was your weekend?" Kristen asked curiously. "We tried getting you on Saturday, but we just got your answering machine. Where were you?"

"Saturday I was at Rob's." Josie replied, which technically was the truth. "His parents invited me over for dinner." Once again, the truth. Just that _his_ parents were also _her_ parents.

"Oh, that sounds like fun." Gibby grinned slightly, giving Josie a sly look. "Like old times I'm sure."

"Old times?" Josie frowned slightly.

"Yeah, like when you two use to go out." Kirsten clarified.

Josie looked at Rob and tried not to laugh. The thought of him and her as a couple struck her as so ludicrous. "Yeah, just like 'old times'." Just then the warning bell sounded and everyone started heading for their classes.

"I still can't understand why you two broke up." Gibby commented, glancing at Rob and Josie as they walked down the hall, Rob's arm still draped across Josie's shoulders. "You make such a cute couple."

"Yeah, but obviously he didn't realize how amazing she is." Guy remarked as he casually pushed Rob's arm off her shoulders and replaced it with his own. "That's why she's my girl now."

Josie blushed and shot Rob a pleading look. As usual he came to her rescue. Imitating Guy's actions he casually pushed his arm off of Josie and replaced it with his own saying. "That may be, but I'm her best friend not to mention the fact that I've known her longer than all of you put together."

Feeling more confident now that Rob had had the last word Josie gently pushed her brother's arm off of her and said as lightly as possibly. "Now, now boys. There's no need to fight over me. I'm quite capable of being both your friends." She quickened her pace so that she could join Gibby, Kirsten and Kristen who were now walking a few steps ahead of them.

Guy watched her go and couldn't help but chuckle. "Isn't she incredible? I think I'm falling for her, man. She rocks my world."

Rob felt a prick of conscience as he noted the look on the other man's face. For the first time since he'd come to South Glen South he felt bad about all the lies and stories he'd told about himself and Josie. He never expected anybody to get hurt, and he certainly hadn't expected anybody to actually fall for his sister. But here there were two men who had fallen for her. One she returned his affection, but how would Guy feel when he found out he was being played the fool. He would probably be very hurt. "Um, Guy there's something you should probably know."

"What's that, man?" Guy looked at him expectantly, stopping when Rob did.

"Ah, you see." Rob shuffled uncomfortably and glanced down the rapidly emptying hallway. Taking a deep breath he said. "There's no easy way to tell you this, but, ah..."

"Just spit it out, man." Guy told him, a trifle impatiently.

"Josie's in love with someone else." Rob finally said.

He felt bad as he watched Guy's shoulders slouch slightly. "Who?"

Rob shook his head. "I can't say. She's sworn me to secrecy." When Guy continued to look at him he added desperately. "She made me pinky swear! I can't break a pinky swear!"

"Why didn't she say anything?" The other man asked sadly.

"Because she doesn't know you cared for her that much." Rob replied. "Also, so didn't know how he felt about her."

"And she does now?" Guy asked dully.

Rob nodded. "They got together this weekend." Reaching over he squeezed the other man's shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sorry man. I know what its like to loose someone you care about."

"Did you feel the same way when you and Josie broke up?" Guy asked curiously.

Rob thought about his answer carefully before replying. "Let's just say that I'm very grateful to have Josie as my best friend. I don't know what I would do without her."

Guy sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do either. She's just so amazing."

"You can still be her friend." Rob told him. "You still have that."

The other man looked thoughtful for a moment and then gave his head a nod. "You're right, I can still be her friend. Thanks man." He reached over and shook Rob's hand gratefully.

"My pleasure." Rob assured him, a broad grin nearly splitting his face. Feeling both proud and relieved Rob followed Guy down the hall just as the final bell rang.

At lunch time Josie excused herself from Gibby, Kirsten and Kristen feigning last minute research on a school report and headed for the Library. In actual fact she was hoping for a few minutes to work on her reporting assignment. She'd really been hoping to have an idea ready to present to Gus that afternoon at the weekly staff meeting, but so far she was drawing nothing but a blank. How could she top a so-called scandal between a teacher and his supposed student? What could possibly be as riveting or as noteworthy? Surely nothing else about her boring life that would qualify. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she entered the Library. She was thankful to find that the room was basically empty except for one or two other people. Without even looking at her companions she headed for the back of the Library to where all the non-fiction and reference materials were kept. Dropping her shoulder bag on a table she moved to the closest row of shelves and began scanning the titles. She wasn't looking for any book in particular, just whatever struck her and might give her some ideas for her story.

"'My Semester in High School'." She murmured Rigfort's original theme to herself as she ran a hand over the various volumes on the shelf. "'My Life As a Geek'." She added as she continued to scan the titles under her hand. As her mind traveled over other self-deprecating titles she pulled a book from the shelf and flipped it open. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice the hand that reached over her shoulder to drop a piece of paper on her open book. It wasn't until she was about to turn the page that she noticed the piece of blue paper. Shifting the book from one hand to the other she picked up the note curiously. On the scrap of paper, scribbled in Sam's familiar handwriting were the following words: _The best stories come from within influenced by life, time and growth._ A similar comment Sam had made to her echoed in Josie's head: _To write well, you have to write what you know._

As Josie seriously considered those words she felt a pair of arms encircle her waist from behind. Hugging her tightly to him Sam leaned down and whispered softly in her ear the same thing he'd written on the piece of paper she still held. "The best stories come from within influenced by life, time and growth." Kissing the side of her head tender he then added. "Listen to your heart, sweetheart and believe in yourself. You'll write a fantastic story. I have complete faith in you." Kissing her again he said. "I love you." Then with after another loving squeeze he was gone, disappearing just as suddenly as he'd appeared. Josie wondered if he'd really been there or if she'd just imagined him. Looking down again she found another piece of paper lying on her open book. This one was folded and looked larger than the previous one. Carrying her book the a table she carefully sat down and unfolded the note, careful to keep the paper out of view of her camera.

"My dearest Josie." The note read. "I don't know how many more days I can do this. If I thought that pretending not to be in love with you was hard when I was just your teacher I should have realized how much harder it would be now as your boyfriend. I hope we can end this charade soon because I am absolutely dying to tell everyone that you belong to me. That you are mine and no one else can have you.

I overheard Rob talking to Guy this morning. He was trying to gently tell him not to get him hopes up about you and him because you were in love with someone else. Don't worry, Rob handled the whole thing very well and Guy had no idea _who_ you're in love with. But for me, I can't begin to explain how I felt when I heard Rob say that and know that he was talking about me. That I was the guy lucky enough to be the object of your affection.

I love you so much, Josie. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone before. And more than anything I want to have you in my life forever. I want to marry you, to have children with you, to live happily ever after with you. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a proposal - yet. This is merely a declaration of my heartfelt intentions.

I love you Josie Geller, and I always will.

Yours always, Sam."

Josie wiped the tears from her eyes as the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. Quickly folding Sam's letter she slipped it into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder and heading for her next class.

"Good afternoon everyone!" Sam greeted his Senior Lit class warmly as he entered the classroom and closed the door behind himself.

"Afternoon." Most of his students returned pleasantly. After setting his briefcase down on his desk he turned to face the class, a slight smile on his lips. He scanned the room silently for a moment before letting a broad smile spread across his face. "Welcome to your last week of High School English." A cheer erupted from his students echoed by vigorous applause and some excited whistles. Sam put on his most offended look. "Nice to know you're going to miss me."

"We'll miss you, Mr. Coulson." Kristen told him eagerly. Looking at her three girlfriends she prompted. "Won't we, girls?" Gibby and Kirsten echoed her sentiment with sincere nods and words of agreement. The fact was the three of them were going to miss him very much. They had all had a crush on him since the first day of class. In fact amongst themselves they referred to him as Mr. _Cool_son. They thought he was the handsomest teacher at South Glen South and they each wished desperately that he was younger - or better yet that they were a little older. Turning to Josie who hadn't said anything Kristen pushed. "You'll miss him too, won't you Josie?"

Josie's cheeks flushed at the other girl's innocent question. She noticed that Aldys was desperately trying not to choke on the laughter she was attempting to hold back. Trying her best to keep her voice steady and as normal sounding as possible Josie finally managed to reply. "Yes, of course I will."

Sam turned his smile on her and said neutrally. "Thank you, Josie. That means a lot to me." Looking at the others he added. "I'm going to miss you all too." He paused for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face before continuing. "I have an idea. How about we do something special so that we'll never forget each other."

"Like what?" Jason asked suspiciously.

Sam paused for another moment before replying. "I want each of you to write an essay about your Senior years at South Glen South. I want you to tell me just how much of an influence this year has been on your lives and your view of both the past and the future." Josie shot Sam an amused look. She knew exactly where his inspiration had come from for this little assignment. "Your papers will be due the day after tomorrow and then we'll spend the next three days discussing them as a group." A collective groan went up from the class. "Oh, come on you guys." He gave them all an encouraging look. "Just think, this is your last High School English assignment." When he received more moans he chuckled and offered. "Tell you what. Why don't we get things rolling by sharing some of our favorite South Glen South Senior year experiences? Who wants to start?" When no hands went up he prompted. "Come on, _somebody_ must have something to share. I didn't think it was that boring of a year!" Aldys put up her hand and Sam gave her an encouraging smile.

"Well I think I'll always remember the look on Brett's face when you nailed him with those whipped cream pies on Senior night." She shot the football star a teasing look.

Sam and some of the other students laughed in agreement. "That was pretty good, wasn't it." He commented as he too shot the young man a mischievous look. "I'm just glad that Brett's a good sport."

"Just until graduation." Brett pretended to threaten. "After that you'd better watch your back Mr. Coulson."

Sam chuckled good-naturedly. "I'll remember that." Then looking back to the class he asked. "Anybody else? Anyone?"

"Why don't you share a memory from when you were in High School?" Tommy prompted, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Did they even have High School back then?" Jason added teasingly.

"For your information we had a _great_ high school!" Sam defended in mock-annoyance.

"So tell us about it." Gibby encouraged.

Sam grinned for a moment, exchanged a brief look with Josie and then nodded his head. "All right." Settling himself on the edge of his desk he thought for a moment before starting to chuckle. "How about I tell you a story about _my_ Senior Lit teacher." There were nods and murmurs of approval. "Well, when I was in High School, our school had a yearly tradition that on the last day of classes before exams started the teachers would put on a show for the students."

"What kind of show?" Kristen asked curiously.

"Air bands." Sam explained. "They'd get up and lip sync to some song and usually dance or pretend to play an instrument at the same time. Well, my Lit teacher was a real nut. He got up on stage dressed like an Eskimo: winter coat, scarf, hat, mitts, the works. Then while lip syncing to the song _**I'm Too Sexy**_ he slowly stripped on stage all the way down to a pair of shorts and T-shirt. And each layer that he took off he tossed into the audience. Well everybody was just roaring with laughter." His present audience was also greatly amused by the story. "Oh, and later...oh, this was great! You see usually for about the last month of school water fights were big in my school. Almost everyone had either a water gun or water balloons or both and there were water fights _everywhere_. Well, during the Teacher's Aid Bands one of the Vice Principals came out on stage and said that after that day there wasn't to be any more water guns or water fights in school. It was exam time and we were all suppose to be serious. Well, later on he did a song and dance for us and came out dressed in a long trench coat, his back to the audience. After a couple moments he whipped around and started soaking the audience with his Super Soaker. Well the kids in the audience retaliated with their water guns and balloons. The stage was just swimming in water, but it was one of the funniest water fights I'd ever been involved in!"

"That's rufus!" Guy exclaimed as he and his buddies laughed heartily at the story. "I wish we had something like that here."

"Yeah, it'd be fun to nail the principal and the vice principal with water balloons." Jason agreed eagerly.

"Okay, so I've told my story." Sam commented. "Now it's somebody else's turn." Looking around the room his eyes finally settled on Josie. He gave her a warm smile and prompted. "Josie, why don't you tell us how being at South Glen South for the last three months has effected you." When Josie's eyes widened in alarm he encouraged. "How was it different from your last High School?" Swallowing hard Josie stood up and turned to face the class. She had no idea what she was going to say. If she didn't love Sam Coulson so much she would have been tempted to beat him to death at that very moment. "Why don't you come and sit up here, Josie." Sam encouraged, scooting over a little to make room beside him on the desk. He patted the vacant space invitingly. Josie hesitated for a moment than moved to join him. With a shy smile she settled herself on the desk beside him before looking at the class.

"My experience here at South Glen South started out very much like it had at my last High school." Josie began a little hesitantly. "Most people ignored me, or tormented me. Few of my classmates ever took the time to get to know me. I was basically an outcast, a geek. Things didn't change too much when I first came to South Glen. I was considered a geek here too."

"There are no 'geeks' in my class, Josie." Sam quickly corrected her. "What you are is a very studious and highly talented young lady."

Josie blushed slightly at the comment and felt her heart swell with love for this wonderful man who was now the love of her life. "Anyway, things are different now. Others have finally accepted me, and it has given me a whole new perspective about things. I know longer wonder 'what if', but I can look forward to what's coming next without any regrets. I think my experience at South Glen South has changed my life a lot. It has changed my outlook on my life a lot too." Looking at Sam she grinned slightly and added. "Now if I can only nail this assignment my happiness will be complete." Only Sam, Aldys and Josie knew she wasn't referring to Sam's English assignment.


	5. Chapter 5

"I noticed how Mr. Coulson didn't say that he was going to miss you after the school year was over." Aldys teased Josie after class was over. The two of them were alone in the Girls bathroom getting ready to leave the school for the day. Due to their location, Josie had taken the opportunity to remove her camera and recorder, glad to be rid of the annoying device.

"Well that's because I'm not going to give him the opportunity to miss me." Josie replied with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Well, some how I don't think that's going to be a problem." Aldys commented as she pushed open one of the stall doors. "Something tells me he's not going to be letting you out of his sight now that he's finally got you."

"And I'm not going to be letting him out of mine." Her friend added as the stall door closed behind the other girl. Just then the bathroom door opened and Kristin, Gibby and Kirsten came filing in.

"There you are!" Gibby exclaimed when she caught sight of Josie standing by the row of sinks. "We've been looking all over for you."

"What's up?" Josie asked curiously looking from one girl to the other.

The three teenagers looked at each other before focusing their attention back to Josie. "We just wanted to apologize to you for being so mean when you first came to South Glen." Kristen told her sincerely.

"We were such jerks for treating you like we did." Gibby added sincerely.

"Can you ever forgive us?" Kirsten finished, giving Josie a pleading look.

"If you don't, we'll just die." Kristen gave her a small pout.

Josie couldn't believe her ears. The 'popular girls' were actually asking her forgiveness for the way they'd treated her. Never in all her years had Josie ever imagined that such a thing could take place. She felt her self-esteem soar at the idea that these girls would actually care enough about her feelings to apologize for their treatment of her. Maybe the popular kids weren't so bad after all. "Of course I forgive you." She quickly assured them and returned the friendly hugs they offered her.

As she hugged Gibby the girl told her sincerely. "If there's anything we can ever do to make it up to you, please tell us."

"As a matter of fact there is something that you could do." Josie told them honestly.

"What?" Gibby asked curiously. "Name it."

"Let Aldys come with us to the ball game tonight." Josie replied, her expression serious.

A frown appeared on the three girls' faces. "Why do you want _Alpo_ to come to the game with us?" Kristen complained in a whiny tone.

"Yeah, she's not one of us." Gibby added with her hands on her hips.

"Aldys is a very nice girl." Josie told them very firmly. "And I happen to like her very much." She looked at each girl before adding. "Please, all I'm asking is that you spend one evening with her. Just give her a chance. I think you'll be surprised to find out that you like her more than you expect. After all, you weren't that crazy about me when we first met, but now we're friends aren't we?"

"Of course we are." Kirsten quickly assured her. The three girls looked at each other for a moment before finally answering Josie's request.

"Okay, she can come with us tonight if she wants." Gibby told Josie seriously. "But just for tonight. We'll see how things go before we start inviting her to anything else."

"That's all I ask." Josie assured them sincerely. "I'm sure you'll discover what a great person she is."

"I hope you're right." Kristen replied. "After all, this is Robbie Rob's big game and I want to be in a good mood to cheer him on."

"We'll make a great cheering section for Rob." Josie promised. She and Coach Romano were the only ones that knew that Rob was going to 'injure' himself during practice that afternoon and that this 'injury' was going to prevent him from starring in the big game that night.

"Are you going to be coming to dinner with us before the game?" Gibby asked curiously. "We're all going to Nana's to grab a bite."

Josie shook her head. "No, actually I already have plans for supper. But I'll meet you at the entrance gate at seven o'clock. That gives us half-an-hour before game time."

"Sounds great." Kirsten acknowledged. Then looking at her two friends she suggested. "We'd better go if we're going to get ready for dinner in time for the guys to pick us up."

"Your right." Gibby exclaimed in sudden alarm as she looked at her watch. "We only have about an hour and a half before we're suppose to meet." Looking at Josie she added. "We'll see you later, Josie."

"Bye, Josie." The other two girls called over their shoulders as they followed Gibby out of the room. Josie laughed and shook her head as she watched the trio file out.

"Is the coast clear?" Aldys asked, poking her head out of the stall she had been in.

"Yeah, they're gone." Josie assured her.

Aldys emerged from the stall, a look of surprise on her face. "I can't believe you actually convinced them to let me come with you tonight. I never would have expected them to say 'yes'."

"Don't be so surprised." Josie told her. "Besides, all it takes is one person to think you're cool and you're in. Everyone else will be too scared to question it."

"Really?" The younger girl raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Josie grinned and shrugged. "That's what Rob told me when I first started this assignment. And seeing how he's so popular, I guess he would know."

"You know what Rob told me when he dropped me off last night?" Aldys looked at Josie, her eyes sparkling. When Josie shook her head she smiled and said. "He told me that I had very beautiful eyes."

Josie smiled at her friend and remarked. "You do have very beautiful eyes."

Aldys blushed with pleasure. "I'm glad Rob thinks so." With a slight sigh she added. "Aren't guys great?"

Her friend nodded. "Yes they are." Then glancing at her watch she started to panic. "I'm going to be late!"

"Late for what?" The other girl asked in confusion.

"Late for the staff meeting at the Sun-Times." Josie replied, gathering up her things. "We have a staff meeting ever Monday at four and I've been late the last two weeks. Rigfort and Gus will both have my hide if I'm late again."

"I can drive you." Aldys volunteered. "I can have you there in ten minutes."

"Are you sure you can make it in ten?" Josie asked looked at her with uncertainty.

"Positive." The other girl assured her.

Josie's eyes started to twinkle slightly. "Then can I get you to do me a favor before we leave?"

"Anything." Her friend assured her.

Josie walked purposefully into Sam's classroom and was relieved to find him still sitting at his desk. She'd been afraid that he'd gone home already. At the sound of her footsteps he looked up and fixed her with a brilliant smile. "Josie? To what do I owe the honor of your presence?"

Glancing over her shoulder to where Aldys was standing guard at the door she received a nod signaling that the coast was clear. Looking back to Sam she grinned mischievously and asked. "How would you like a kiss before I go?"

Sam's face broke into a broad smile as he rose to his feet and reached out to enfold her in his arms. "I'm not likely to turn down an invitation like that, am I?" Leaning down he kissed her gently on the lips, hugging her tighter to him. When he pulled away he leaned his forehead against hers and sighed. "I love you."

"I love you too." She returned her eyes still closed as she savored the feeling of being in Sam's arms.

"Are we still on for dinner tonight?" He asked, still holding her tight.

Josie nodded her head. "I have my staff meeting until about five and then I'll be ready to go."

"Should I pick you up at the Sun-Times or meet you somewhere else?" He inquired, kissing her forehead as she replied.

"It would probably be best if we met somewhere else." She told him. "It would be just my luck that Gus would leave work early and see us leave together. There's a coffee shop about two blocks West of the Sun-Times building. I'll meet you there about five-fifteen."

"It's a date." He confirmed. Then leaning down again he planted another kiss on her lips, this one a little longer. Josie pulled him closer and deepened the kiss, tangling her fingers in his blond hair.

"Josie!" Aldys suddenly hissed, trying to get her friend's attention. When neither Sam nor Josie acknowledged her she tried again a little louder. "Josie!" The couple jumped and looked at her in surprise. "Ms. Knox is coming." The other girl informed them in a terse whisper. The couple nodded, hugged again quickly and parted.

"I'll see you at five-fifteen." Sam whispered to Josie as he released her. Josie nodded and then quickly gathered up her bag as Ms. Knox entered the room. Plastering as normal a smile as he could on his face Sam looked at his co-worker and greeted. "Hi Marilyn."

"Afternoon Sam, girls." Ms. Knox nodded to Josie and Aldys and smiled. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Oh no." The three of them replied a little too quickly.

"I was, ah, just getting some, ah, ideas for our last assignment." Josie stumbled nervously, a red flush spreading across her cheeks. Looking at Sam she stammered quickly. "Thanks for your help, S…Mr. Coulson. I really appreciate your impute."

"My pleasure, Josie." Sam assured her with an amused smile. "I'll see you later."

"Later." She repeated and quickly fled from the room with Aldys in tow. Both girls let out a nervous laugh as they ran down the hallway. Marilyn frowned slightly as she watched the girls leave.

"Something I can help you with Marilyn?" Sam asked as he gathered his stuff up and returned it to his briefcase.

"I wanted to talk to you about graduation actually." She told him as she turned away from the door. "Any suggestions for Valedictorian?"

"Aldys Wells would be my first choice." Sam told her honestly. "She's one of my best students."

Marilyn watched him for a moment before venturing. "I would have thought you'd chose Josie Geller. Word is she's your favorite student."

Sam looked at her seriously and said. "I don't have 'favorite' students, Marilyn. I don't believe in 'teacher's pets'."

She gave him another measuring look before favoring him with a smile. "I'm glad to hear that." Then after hesitating for a moment she finally said what was on her mind. "I don't know if I'm doing right by saying this, but you should probably be aware that I think Josie has a crush on you."

Sam gave her his best surprised look and asked. "Are you sure?"

She nodded her head. "I've seen the way she looks at you when you pass her in the hall. She's definitely smitten with you. I wouldn't worry about it. It's completely normal for a teenage girl to develop a crush on her teacher." She giggled slightly. "When I was in High School I had a terrible crush on my Spanish teacher. He was eight years older than me and a real dreamboat. I use to fantasize about running away to Spain with him." She blushed slightly when she realized what she'd been saying. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know so you can be prepared if you have to be."

Sam suppressed the chuckle that he felt building and managed to reply in an even tone. "I appreciate your concern, Marilyn. I'm sure things will be fine." He shook his head as she left, finally letting out the amusement that he'd been holding back. "Josie honey, I don't know how much longer we can keep our relationship a secret. You'd better get that story of yours done and quickly before anyone else gets suspicious."

"Josie, you made it!" Anita sighed with relief as her best friend slid into the seat next to her. Glancing at the clock she noticed it was five to the hour. "You sure cut it close. Gus was ready to have your head if you late again today."

"I know." Josie acknowledged with a roll of her eyes. "I'm just lucky that Aldys knows a shortcut or else I would have been late."

Anita gave her a mischievous grin. "You mean that gorgeous hunk of a teacher of yours didn't drop you off?"

Josie flushed slightly and looked around to make sure nobody heard her friend's comment. Fortunately everyone else was engaged in their own conversations, completely oblivious to what Anita had said. Looking at her best friend she hissed softly. "Will you keep your voice down! Somebody might overhear!"

"Oh, posh!" The dark haired woman dismissed with a wave of her hand. Leaning closer to Josie she asked eagerly. "So what happened? How did you day go? Did you two behave yourselves?" She raised her eyebrows up and down suggestively, a wicked grin on her face.

"Yes!" Josie gave her arm a swat. "Of course we did!" Then with sparkling eyes she added confidentially. "The day when great! Better than great actually!" Glancing at the clock she pulled Sam's letter out of her bag and handed it to Anita.

"What's this?" Her friend asked curiously as she unfolded it.

"A note Sam gave me." Josie told her with a broad smile.

With a glint in her eye Anita quickly read the letter, her smile broadening with each word. She'd just barely finished when Gus and Rigfort filed in. Quickly folding the letter she handed it back to Josie who quickly shoved it into her bag as Rigfort rapped the large conference table with a long wooden stick and called. "Meeting now in progress!" He surveyed the room silently for a moment, quietly sizing up each one in his audience, until his eyes fell upon Josie. With a mildly sarcastic clip he greeted. "Glad to see you're on time this week, Miss Geller. How's the story coming?"

Josie cringed slightly at his tone, but then took a deep breath and with much more confidence than she felt replied. "Very well, sir. I'll have it ready by next week's deadline."

"Good!" Rigfort gave her a genuinely delighted smile. "I look forward to reading it, Miss Geller. I think you have the potential to be a great undercover reporter." His expression became stern as he added. "Don't disappoint me."

"Yes, sir." Josie whispered hoarsely, jumping as he whacked the table again, signaling a change of subject.

"This year's Sun-Time Baseball team. Practice starts Friday. Anyone interested in playing please sign-up by Wednesday. Veterans get first choice of positions." Glancing at Josie he smiled encouragingly. "I hope you plan on being our catcher again this year, Miss Geller. That was one hell of a save during last years championship game."

Josie beamed at the compliment. "Thank you sir."

Addressing the group again, Rigfort continued. "I have decided that since we had such a hard time last year finding enough employees to make up the team, friends and family members are now welcome to participate."

Josie's heart skipped with excitement at the idea that Rigfort's announcement caused to pop into her head. She started picturing what it would be like to play baseball with Sam. The idea had her smiling broadly.

"Okay, out with it!" Anita told her friend as they filed out of the conference room forty-five minutes later."

"Out with what?" Josie asked her friend innocently as they walked to Anita's desk.

"Out with why you've been grinning like a Cheshire cat since Rigfort mentioned the baseball sign ups." Anita urged her curiously.

Glancing around to make sure they weren't overheard Josie gently shoved her friend into her little cubicle and sank down into a chair. Anita grabbed another one and sat down across from her, a deeply curious look on her face. Leaning closer to her friend Josie finally confided excitedly. "I'm going to see if Sam wants to sign up to play ball with me on the Sun-Times team."

Anita gaped at her in surprise. "Josie, you can't!"

"Why not?" The younger woman frowned in confusion. "You heard Rigfort, friends and family members are welcome to participate this year. I'd say that Sam qualifies as a friend, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, I would, but Josie sign ups are Wednesday." Anita looked at her friend seriously. "Nobody here except me and you know about you and Sam being 'friends'." She watched as understand removed the sparkle of excitement from her friend's eyes. She hated to be the one to deflate her friend's enthusiasm, but she couldn't let her throw everything away for a baseball team.

Josie sighed and slumped back in her chair, her animation dying instantly as reality hit her fully on. "If I sign Sam and I up than everyone is going to find out about us before I get my story finished. And if they find out about Sam and I before I get my story finished then they'll be no use signing us up for the Sun-Times baseball team because I will no longer be employed by the Chicago Sun-Times. It'll basically be a moot point." Frustrated she pounded her fist on the arm of her chair. "When did life get so complicated?"

Anita smiled at her knowingly. "The minute you fell in love with Sam Coulson."

At the sound of her boyfriend's name Josie couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. With a dreamy sigh she commented. "Yeah, but he's worth it."

Anita couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's expression. "Girl, you've got it _bad_!"

Josie looked at her best friend and blushed slightly. "I know." Then remembering something she reached into her shoulder bag and fished out her notebook. Flipping it open she ripped out a page and handed it to Anita. "I want to place a Want ad."

Anita gave her a wicked look. "Not in the _Personals_ I hope."

"No!" Josie exclaimed a bit too loudly. She blushed when Rhonda, who'd been passing by, looked at them curiously. After she continued on Josie lowered her voice and said. "It's a different kind of Want ad."

Intrigued Anita read the Ad that Josie had scribbled on the paper she held. When she finished her intrigue had been replaced by puzzlement. "I didn't know you collected Gordie Howe memorabilia."

"I don't." Josie assured her. "It's not for me, it's for Sam." At Anita's expectant look she explained. "When Sam was in peewee hockey his father bought him a helmet autographed by Gordie Howe. He said it made him feel invincible. He even got a trophy for 'Most Improved Player' that year."

Her friend smiled. "Sounds like it meant a lot to him."

"It did." Josie confirmed.

"So why are you getting him another one?"

"Because Lara..."

"The witch he just broke up with?" Anita interrupted to ask.

Josie nodded in confirmation and continued. "Lara got mad at him one day because he liked playing hockey when she felt he should spend more time visiting her and looking for work in New York and so she tossed his helmet in the garbage to get even with him."

"She sounds like she's a real winner that one." Anita commented caustically.

"She's very beautiful." Josie replied seriously. "But I'm afraid with her beauty is only skin deep."

"Where as yours goes right to the core." Anita told her honestly. "No wonder you turned Sam's head so fast. After that Lara witch he probably considers you an angel."

The younger woman blushed hotly and denied. "I doubt he sees me as that."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Her friend told her confidently. "Have I been wrong much where you and Sam Coulson are concerned?"

Josie smiled back and shook her head. "No, I guess you haven't. You seem to have an uncanny knack in that direction."

"It's a gift." Anita teased lightly. The two women chuckled with easy amusement.

Their humor was short-lived however when Gus' voice came booming across the bullpen. "Geller! My office now!"

Josie looked at Anita and rolled her eyes. "Sounds like Gus is on a rampage again." Glancing at the clock she noticed it was three minutes to five. "Listen, can you do me a favor?"

"Name it." Her friend replied without hesitation.

"I'm suppose to meet Sam at Sadie's Coffee Shoppe at five-fifteen." Josie told her. "Could you possibly go down and keep him company until I get there. I don't want him to get worried thinking I stood him up or anything."

Anita flashed her a mischievous smile. "I'd love to babysit that gorgeous hunk of yours for you. But I have to warn you, if you're not there by six I'm running off with him."

Josie laughed and retorted hotly. "I'd like to see you try, Missy. Sam Coulson's mine. So you keep your grubby hands off him!"

Anita couldn't help but laugh as he watched her friend strut hautily across the room to Gus' office. One thing was sure, if nothing else this undercover assignment had given Josie a confidence that she'd never shown before. "You go girl." Anita whispered with pride and delight. "You show them all what you're really made off!"

Unfortunately Josie's air of confidence fizzled to nothing as she sat across the desk from her gruff looking boss. It had been a full two minutes since he'd told her to shut the door and take a seat. Now he just sat looking at her, not saying a word.

Josie shifted uncomfortably in her seat wishing he would say something - _anything_ - to break the silence. Just when she felt that she couldn't take it anymore he finally spoke, asking the question that Josie had been dreading the most. "So, what did Coulson say when you told him the truth?"

All Josie could do was gap at him. Her surprise couldn't have been greater if he'd suddenly sprouted a second head. "What...How...I don't...What?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Geller." He barked gruffly. "I _know_ you told that teacher of yours the truth."

Josie swallowed hard, desperately trying to fight back the tears that wanted to spill. "Did George tell you?" She finally managed to ask in a choked voice.

"No." Gus exclaimed harshly. "Contrary to what you may think, Geller I didn't get to be editor of a major city newspaper by sitting on my ass. I happened to have been one of the best investigative reporters the Sun-Times had ever seen. And for your information, it didn't take much investigating to realize what had happened. In fact one phone call confirmed it."

"One phone call?" Josie croaked nervously.

Her boss nodded, pausing for a moment to watch her squirm. "I called a friend of mine at the Chicago PD and had him trace the license plate number of a certain black Jetta that was parked in your parents driveway on Saturday evening."

Josie closed her eyes against her tears, not needing to hear the results of that phone call. Instead she asked. "What made you decide to check that number? It could have just been a friend of Rob's visiting."

"I knew that Coulson drove a black Volkswagen Jetta." Gus told her matter-of-factly. "I also knew that it couldn't have been just a 'friend of Rob's' because of all the scrambling that was going on in the kitchen when Anita and I entered _and _by the way your eyes kept darting to whoever it was that was hiding behind the door, especially when I mentioned how I knew you had feelings for Coulson." As Josie buried her face in her hands Gus concluded. "I'd say that the evidence that you told Coulson the truth is pretty air tight. No judge in the world would be able to deny it."

Josie's shoulders started to shake as she started to cry openly. "I didn't mean any harm." She sobbed vehemently. "I just couldn't stand lying to him anymore."

"But you could stand lying to me?" Gus commented gruffly as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Contrary to public opinion he hated seeing someone cry and he hated even worse being the reason for someone crying, but he was completely ignorant as to what to do about it. Clearing his throat slightly he slid a box of tissues across his desk towards her. Josie took a tissue and wiped her eyes then blew her nose. After several moments Gus finally spoke again, but this time both his tone and his expression were softer. "Look, Josie." She looked at him in surprise when he addressed her by her first name. "I need to know how far this had gone. When did you tell Coulson the truth?"

Josie wiped her eyes again and took a deep breath. "I told him at Prom. I cut the feed deliberately and told him."

"And how did he react?" Gus pressed, watching her intently.

Lifting her eyes to meet his she told him very icily. "Contrary to what you might think he was very relieved to find out that I wasn't his seventeen year old student. Yes, he was attracted to me, very much so in fact. But he was very uncomfortable about the fact. He's not the sick, depraved man that you want to make him out to be. He's sweet and honorable and kind. He is the most wonderful man that I have ever met and I love him with all my heart." She chuckled slightly from nerves and added. "That doesn't even properly reflect how much I feel for him. I have never cared for anyone as much as I do for him and what amazes me the most is that he is just as crazy about me as I am about him. For the first time in my life, the guy that I like likes me back. No false pretense, no hidden agenda, he honestly and truthfully loves me." Squaring her shoulders she suddenly gave him a very defiant look and told him firmly. "I love Sam more than I have ever loved anyone and if you make me chose between my job and him I'll be out of here so fast your head will spin."

Gus blinked at her in complete surprise. Never had he ever heard her speak to him or anyone else in such a way before. There was a certain air of confidence about her that he'd never seen before. He was actually quite proud of her for it. "Well hopefully it won't come to that." He commented with surprising gentleness. "What kind of story have you got?"

Josie fished a notebook out of her bag and opened it to the story she'd started sketching out during Sam's class earlier that afternoon. Setting it on Gus' desk she'd slid it towards him. Without a word he picked it up and started reading her rough draft. After about five minutes he set the notebook down on his desk and leaned back in his chair looking at Josie thoughtfully for several moments. "I'll let you do this story on one condition."

"What is it?" Josie asked cautiously.

"I want to meet this wonderful teacher of yours." He told her seriously. "I'm assuming that he's somewhere nearby."

Josie hesitated for a moment than nodded. "I was suppose to meet him at Sadie's at five-fifteen."

Glancing at the clock Gus noted. "It's almost five-forty-five. Think he'll still be there."

Josie nodded and admitted honestly. "I sent Anita to tell him I'd be late."

"Anita's in on this?" Gus barked, his anger suddenly returning. "How long has she known?"

"She figured it out on Saturday." Josie confessed. "She confronted me with it when she called me after she got home from the movies."

"Has she met Coulson before?" He pressed curiously.

Josie nodded. "She met him that day she came to South Glen South and ended up doing the Sex-Ed seminar. But of course Sam had no idea who she was then. He thought she was Pam Kitterman."

Gus sighed and growled slightly. "I still haven't fired her for that yet. What'll that make? Number ten?"

"Nine." Josie corrected. "Unless you fired her once while I was undercover."

"No." Gus shook his head. "This would be the only time. Guess that means Collins in Accounting lost the pool."

"What pool?" Josie asked in a puzzled tone.

Gus gave her a measuring look. "The pool that everyone in this office has going on about when I'll fire Anita for the tenth time."

"Oh, that pool." Josie acknowledged with a nod of her head. She was surprised that Gus was so casual about the fact. She hadn't even been aware that he knew about the pool. What he said next surprised her even more.

"I gotta try to drag it out until August." He told her seriously. Then with an uncustomary twinkle in his eye he added. "I've bet on the ninth of August." Josie couldn't help but gape at him in surprise once again. "So, was that the only time that Anita met Coulson?"

Josie hesitated again and shook her head. "Anita, Sam and I had breakfast together this morning. It wasn't planned, it just happened."

Gus frowned then sighed. "Well, let's get down there before Anita convinces Coulson to run off with her or something."

Josie scowled at his remark. "That would never happen and you know it."

"I do?" Gus gave her a skeptical look.

"Come on, Gus you don't actually believe that do you?" She gave him a surprised look. When he didn't respond she told him confidently. "Sam would never do that to me and Anita would never do that to you."

Gus shook his head slightly and remarked sarcastically. "You're even more naive abut relationships than I thought, Geller."

Josie bristled slightly but managed to keep her tone even as she replied. "That may be, but I do know that trust is very important in a relationship. _Any relationship_! Anita is my best friend and has been for several years now and I trust her implicitly. She would never do anything to hurt me. And neither would Sam. He was ready to risk his career for me because he fell in love with me, and I feel the same way about him."

Gus sighed deeply, his expression showing that he still wasn't convinced. "I hope your trust isn't misplaced."

"It isn't." Josie told him with firm convictions. "You'll see." With a grin she added. "Trust me."

"You should have seen the grin on Josie's face when Rigfort announced that friends and families could play on the company's baseball team this year." Anita told Sam as they lingered over a cup of coffee while waiting for Josie to show up. "She said she couldn't help but imagine how great it would be if the two of you could play ball together."

Sam gaped at her in surprise. "Wait a minute! Josie _plays_ baseball?" At Anita's nod he exclaimed in delight. "I didn't know that! I thought she just liked watching, I had no idea that she could actually play! What position does she play?"

"Mostly catcher." Anita told him. "That's what she's played for the last four years anyway. She's very good too. She's saved the game more than once because of her stubborn determination to cover home plate. She's got a good arm too, though her batting needs a bit of work." She gave Sam a mischievous wink as she commented. "I'm sure you'd be happy to help her work on that. Give her a few pointers."

Sam just chuckled and shook his head slightly. "Just when I think she can't get anymore perfect I learn something new bout her that makes her even more incredible. She's almost too good to be true!"

Anita studied his face carefully for a moment before commenting softly. "You really love her, don't you?"

Sam looked at Anita and nodded his head. "I love her more than I've ever loved anyone in my life." He paused as he leaned forward to lean his arms on the table, a far-away look on his face. After several thoughtful moments he looked at Anita and admitted softly. "She completes me. She makes me feel alive. She makes me feel feelings that I've never felt before. My whole world revolves around her, being with her. Seeing her smile, hearing her laugh. We have so many things in common, more and more all the time it seems. I mean for example, I never ever thought I'd have a girlfriend who not only liked to watch baseball, but who could and does play." He chuckled slightly. "I suppose I have Rob to thank for that."

Anita robbed her eyes. "No doubt. That guy eats, breaths and sleeps baseball and nothing else. I agree with Josie, he's totally and completely obsessed with the game."

"So I've learned." Sam commented with another chuckle. Than after slipping into a thoughtful silence he finally continued. "I can't get over how different two people can be. Josie is nothing like Lara."

"You're ex-girlfriend Lara?" Anita clarified, trying to subtly let him know she'd heard about her.

"That's right." Sam nodded. "Josie is so different from her in every way imaginable."

"Josie said that Lara was a goddess with a perfect figure, perfect hair and perfect looks." Anita commented, curious about Sam's opinion of his ex's appearance.

"She actually thinks that?" Sam looked at her in disbelief. "Lara's looks are far from perfect. They're far from natural too."

"What do you mean?" Anita frowned slightly in confusion.

"What I mean is that Lara has had so many nips and tucks and make-overs that I'm not sure what's real and what's not anymore." He commented in obvious distaste. "Lara's looks don't even hold a candle to Josie's. Josie's naturally beautiful. She doesn't need any 'help', if you know what I mean."

Anita chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I think I do." Then after looking at him thoughtfully for a moment she admitted. "I can't tell you how happy what you said makes me. Josie is the sweetest, tenderest hearted, most romantic person I have ever met and I can't begin to tell you how many times I wished that she would meet someone special like you. She loves you so much, Sam and she's not the type of person to give her heard to just anyone. You have a real treasure there. I have tried for four years to get her to go out with some decent guys that I know, but she wouldn't go. She always dug in her heels saying that when she met 'Mr. Right' she'd know it and that she wasn't going to go and kiss a bunch of 'losers' to get to him." Smiling warmly at him she added. "She was right in doing things the way she did. I didn't understand her thinking at first, but now I do and I wish I'd shared her outlook on love and relationships. You know she's loved you since the first day she met you."

"Yeah?" Sam grinned expectantly.

Anita chuckled and nodded. "I remember the first night after she'd gone to South Glen South I called her to ask about her first day as a High School student. All she had was horror stories to relate - and threats for the outfit I'd chosen for her.

Sam laughed and exclaimed. "You were the one responsible for that - _interesting -_ outfit."

"Guilty." Anita blushed slightly with embarrassment. "I think Josie was ready to kill me for it. She threatened to strangle me with the feather boa."

"It was definitely unique." He agreed with amusement.

"I guess it was." His companion admitted. "Anyway, her negative comments continued until she started talking about your class. I couldn't see her face, but I could hear the excitement in her voice. You may not realize this Sam Coulson, but you've changed that girl's life forever."

"Well, the feeling is entirely mutual." Sam assured her. "Josie has changed my life so much these last few months, especially these last few days that thinking about it makes my head spin."

"Uh, oh." Anita suddenly exclaimed, alarm and dismay appearing on every feature of her face as she focused on something just over Sam's left shoulder. "Speaking about heads spinning."

"What's wrong?" Sam turned around in his seat in time to see Josie walk by the large front window of the coffee shop, a curly-headed man at her side. "Who's that?" He asked as he watched the pair entered the shop.

"That's Gus Straus, our illustrious leader." Anita told him. Then with a sigh he added. "Looks like Jeff in Sports may win the pool after all."

"The pool?" Sam gave her a puzzled look.

"The pool speculating when Gus would fire me for the tenth time." She replied, her eyes still on Gus and Josie as they scanned the coffee shop in search of her and Sam.

Sam gave her a look of surprise. "I didn't know you knew about that."

Anita chuckled slightly. "I know about it the same way you obviously know about it."

"Josie." The pair said simultaneously.

Sam gave her another curious look. "I thought Josie said that Gus had only fired you eight times. When did the ninth happen?"

"It hasn't happened yet." She confessed. "But I have a feeling it's pending."

"What did you do this time?" He asked expectantly.

Fluffing up her hair she said. "I posed as Pam Kitterman - Sex Ed teacher extrordinare. So, if that firing comes through and he fires me for deceiving him about knowing about you and Josie, it would bring us up to ten."

"Unless he combines the last two offenses." Sam told her with a deadpan expression. "You know, two offenses for the price of one firing."

"It's possible." Anita commented as if seriously considering his words. Both of them broke into amused laughter as Josie and Gus approached the table.

"You two sound like you're having fun." Josie commented to the laughing pair.

"We are." Sam acknowledged as he rose to greet Josie. Casting an uncertain glance at Gus he bent down and planted a quick kiss on Josie's lips. "Anita's good company, though she's not you." He kissed her forehead and put his arm around her waist.

"Yes, he's been sitting her pining away for you for the last forty-five minutes." Anita teased the young man mischievously. "He's been crying in his coffee."

"Ah, my poor lonely honey." Josie commented in a mock-sympathetic voice. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?" Sam laughed and willingly accepted her tender kiss, tightening his arm around her and bringing her closer. When they pulled apart Josie nodded towards Gus who was standing there watching the two of them intently. "Sam, I'd like you to meet my boss, Gus Strauss. Gus, this is Sam Coulson, my boyfriend." Josie looked at Sam lovingly as she said the last two words. Sam gave her a tender smile and gently squeezed her waist before turning his attention to Gus.

Extending his hand he greeted the other man pleasantly. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Strauss. Josie has told me a lot about you."

"So I understand." Gus grumped as he looked at Josie pointedly. "A lot more than she was suppose to I hear."

Noting the nervous look on her best friend's face Anita decided to intervene. "Why don't you all sit and we'll discuss this over coffee."

Gus hesitated for a moment than nodded. "All right." He claimed the chair next to Anita, surprising her by drawing it a little closer to her. Sam held Josie's chair out for her before claiming the one beside her. There was several moments of uncomfortable silence while both men sized each other up. Finally Gus broke the silence by commenting. "Geller tells me that you like playing baseball."

Sam smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah, I like playing baseball. I'm not as fanatic about it as some people I know..." He shot Josie an amused look. She rolled her eyes heavenward in response. "...but I do enjoy a good game."

"What position do you play?" Gus asked curiously.

"Mostly Centerfield." Sam told him. "Though I have played Shortstop on occasion."

"Good." The other man acknowledged. "We need a good Centerfield player."

Sam frowned slightly. "Excuse me?"

Josie looked at him excitedly and explained. "Gus has accepted us playing on this year's softball team - _both _of us!" When Sam didn't say anything she quickly said. "That is if you're interested in playing on the Sun-Times team. I mean you don't have to if you don't want to, I just thought..."

Sam silenced her by putting a finger to her lips. When she stopped talking he removed his finger and gave her his brightest smile. "I couldn't think of anything I'd like more than to play baseball with my beautiful and talented girlfriend." Josie blushed rosy red as he leaned forward and dropped a kiss on her lips. Pulling back he whispered. "You're so amazing, Josie Geller. You take my breath away."

Anita sighed as she watched the pair, knowing full well that both she and Gus had been forgotten. Looping her arm through Gus' she said. "Isn't love wonderful?"

Gus glanced down at their linked arms and then back to Anita's smiling face. Boldly he reached up and squeezed the hand that was wrapped around her forearm. "It certainly has it's potential." He admitted, giving her a warm smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Sam and Josie ended up spending their supper together with Anita and Gus talking about baseball, Josie's assignment and a variety of other things. At first Josie had been on edge, worrying about what Gus was thinking and perhaps plotting in his head. But after a while she started to relax when she realized that Gus was, surprisingly enough, just trying to associate with her and Sam on a purely social level. It was a side of her boss that Josie had never seen before and she was positive that it was because of her best friend's influence that he was even attempting it. Josie still wasn't sure, however, of what Sam thought of the whole thing, of being once again submitted to questions and scrutiny by someone he barely knew. She secretly wondered if he'd get tired of strangers poking their nose in his life and decide she wasn't worth the aggravation.

"I'm really sorry about that." She told Sam as they walked hand-in-hand towards his car. "I didn't mean for them to join us like that. It just kind of happened."

"Don't worry about it, Josie." Sam quickly assured her, giving her hand a tight squeeze. "It was actually kind of fun. I really like Anita and I think Gus has potential." Josie couldn't help but smile at that. Stopping mid-stride he turned to look at her, a serious look on his face. "I'm just glad that he didn't get upset when he found out about you telling me the truth about everything."

"He was surprisingly good about it." She commented seriously as they reached his car. "I fully expected to be fired when he found out that I'd told you the truth."

"How did he take it?" Sam asked as he opened the door for her and looked at her curiously. "And what made you decide to tell him?"

"I didn't _decide_ to tell him." She replied pointedly. "He figured out that I'd told you himself."

"What?" Sam exclaimed in alarm. "I hope I didn't do anything to tip him off! I tried to be so careful while you had that camera…"

"Sam, it's okay!" Josie quickly assured him. "It wasn't you…at least it wasn't only you. Gus got suspicious after seeing your car parked at Mom and Dad's the other night. He knew that you drove a black Jetta and he copied down the license plate number and had a friend of his at the CPD run it for him today. The only reason he did that was because of the way I acted when I was talking to him in the kitchen. He said that was what convinced him that something was up. If it's anybody's fault, its mine."

Sam closed the car door and stepped closer to her, placing his hands on her arms. "It's not anybody's fault. Besides, its for the best anyway. It's not like we wanted to keep our relationship from people. At least now your boss knows the truth. Maybe now we can start telling other people about us. Maybe starting with my boss."

Josie's eyes widened slightly in alarm. "What do you think he'll say?"

"I'm sure Jack will be okay with everything." Sam assured her, then added pointedly. "As long as we get to him first and explain the whole thing before anyone else finds out."

"And before my article comes out." Josie added with understanding.

"Exactly." Sam nodded.

Glancing at her watch she asked. "Think he'd still be in his office?"

"Probably not." Sam shook his head. "But he's always there by eight o'clock. We can see him before classes start tomorrow."

"It's a date." Josie gave him a broad smile. Then her smile faltered as she asked. "Think he'll be upset?"

"I don't think so." He ventured to reply. "I've known Jack for a few years now and as long as there was nothing involving a real student, then I can't see him having a problem with it. But that's why I want to tell him myself - ourselves. That way we can explain things so he understands exactly how everything played out."

"Sounds good." She nodded and then smiled as Sam once again opened the car door for her and waited patiently until she was seated inside before closing it. Then jogging around the car he climbed behind the wheel.

"So, where to now?" He asked as he put the keys in the ignition and turned the car on. Glancing at the clock in his dash he said. "We've got about an hour until game time, what do you want to do until then?"

"Actually," Josie flushed slightly. "Aldys is suppose to pick me up at my place at six-forty-five. Then we're going over to the stadium early to meet Gibby, Kirsten and Kristen." She made a face as she said the three 'cool girls' names.

Sam laughed. "I take it you're not that excited about meeting the others."

"Not overly." She admitted. Then after a thoughtful pause she added. "When I was in High School, I _desperately_ wanted to be part of the 'in' crowd. I would have given almost anything to be the most popular girl in school, but now…well, I've finally realized that being popular isn't all that it's cracked up to be."

"Seems like this assignment has been a blessing in more ways than one." Sam remarked seriously.

"What do you mean?" She looked at him curiously.

"Well, for one thing it's helped you eliminate the regrets that you've had since High School." He commented matter-of-factly. "You'll no longer have to wonder 'what if'."

"That's true." Josie acknowledged with a nod. "I no longer feel like an outcast, like someone whose on the outside looking in."

"And because of that you feel more confident about yourself." Sam remarked, more as a statement then a question.

Josie looked at him in surprise. "Yeah, I guess I do. I actually feel pretty good about myself now. Like maybe I'm not such a loser after all."

"You're not a loser, Josie." Her companion quickly assured her, his hand gently caressing her face. "You are beautiful, talented, intelligent and I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my entire life. And as far as I'm concerned, the greatest blessing that ever came out of this assignment of yours was us."

"Oh, Sam." Josie blinked slightly as tears filled her eyes. "I love you." Sam responded to her words by capturing her mouth in a tender kiss, deepening it when he felt her reach up at tangle her fingers in his hair. He felt his scalp tingle under her touch as he lost himself in the kiss, in the feeling of having her lips pressed against his, her hands running through his hair.

Sam was so caught up in the explosion of feelings he was having that it took several moments for him to realize that her hands were no longer in his hair, but were now pushing against his chest. "Sam!" She mumbled as she pulled her lips away from his.

"Um." He murmured protesting the separation as he captured her lips again.

"Sam!" Josie once again pulled back from his lips and called his name, her hands pressing harder against his chest.

The near panic in her tone finally got Sam's attention. Pulling back slightly it took him a moment to focus enough to realize why Josie sounded so nervous. He'd been so caught up in their kiss that he hadn't realized that he'd pressed her rather awkwardly against the passenger door. She'd obviously been trying to get his attention for some time in an effort to break off the passionate kiss, but when he'd failed to heed her wishes she'd gotten scared. Flushing slightly at his uncontrolled behavior he sat back up in his seat, giving her a chance to compose herself. After a few minutes he glanced over at her and noticed tears in the corners of her eyes. "Oh, Josie." He felt his heart constrict with guilt as he realized he was the cause of her current distress. "I am so sorry." She closed her eyes, desperately trying to hide her tears, but that only succeeded in causing them to streak down her face. Turning in his head Sam reached over to wipe the tears off her cheek. When she didn't pull away he lifted her chin to make her look at him. When she didn't he pleaded gently. "Josie, look at me." When she still refused to make eye contact he whispered. "Please." After a few moments she looked at him, her eyes wet with tears. Her teary look nearly broke Sam's heart. "I am so sorry for upsetting you. I never meant for that to happen. I guess I just got a little carried away." He smiled slightly as he added. "You're just such a good kisser." Josie chuckled slightly, more from nerves than anything else. Sam took that as a good sign and forged ahead. "I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable. And I promise that I will never let it happen again."

Josie gave him a measuring look before asking the question that had been plaguing her since she'd first pushed him away. "You don't hate me?"

"Hate you?" Sam looked at her in astonishment. "Oh sweetheart, I could never hate you. And I want you to tell me anytime I do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Understand?" When she nodded he reached up and gently stroked her cheek. "This is not some short-lived fling for me. I don't want to push you into anything that you don't want to do. I'm here for the long haul and we'll take things as slow or as fast as you want to. Okay?"

Josie's eyes teared up again, but this time for a completely different reason. Covering Sam's hand with hers she gave it a warm squeeze and said. "I love you, Sam Coulson and I want this relationship to last too. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I do. But like you said the other night, this is my first - and I hope only - real relationship and I want to enjoy it, every step of it. This is all so new to me, so for now I want to enjoy just being your girlfriend."

"And I want to enjoy being your boyfriend." Sam assured her. "A lot of this is new for me too." When Josie looked at him in surprise he explained, taking her hand in his. "Josie, you've awaken feelings in me that I've never felt before."

"Like what?" She asked curiously.

"Well, like jealously for one thing." He replied, eliciting another surprised look from her. "For the last several weeks I've been almost crazy with jealousy because of the attention you were getting from Rob and Guy. You know the hardest thing I think I've ever had to do in my life was to announce the King and Queen dance at the Prom. I felt like I was handing you over to Guy on a silver platter when all I really wanted to do was pull you to me and hold you tightly. I wanted to dance with you, touch you and hold you so much that I was almost aching with want."

"Really?" She looked at him with surprise on her face.

"Really." He assured her. "Josie, you've touched me in so many ways."

"What about Rob?" She asked him curiously.

"Rob never touched me the way you did." Sam told her with a very straight face.

Josie laughed and slapped his arm lightly. "That's not what I meant. I meant why would you have been jealous of my relationship with him? He's my brother."

"Because until Friday night I had no idea that he was your brother." Sam pointed out. "All I knew was that the two of you seemed to be very close friends, but I was having a hard time figuring out just how _close_ of friends you were. Sometimes I'd be sure that you two were an item, but then you'd do something that didn't seem to indicate a romantic involvement."

"Like what?" Josie questioned curiously.

"Like the time Rob gave you a noogy in the school cafeteria." Sam commented. "That's not usually something a guy does to his girlfriend - not unless they've been going out for quite a _long_ time and they've gone passed the 'best behavior' stage."

Josie laughed at that remark and said mischievously. "Than Rob doesn't stand a chance because that is his 'best behavior' stage." After they both chuckled Josie expression turned serious again as she admitted. "I was jealous too."

"What?" He looked at her in surprise. "Of what?"

"Of Lara." She replied softly. "I was jealous because she had you, because I knew I could only dream of having someone as wonderful as you in my life even though I wanted it so much. I wanted _you _so much. I'd already fallen in love with you by the time I'd met Lara at Delloser and my heart nearly broke when she introduced herself to me as your girlfriend. Then when she said you were moving to New York, well lets just say my prognosis wasn't very good."

"I noticed the look on your face when she said that." Sam commented. "You looked at me like you'd just lost your best friend."

"I thought I had." She whispered softly.

"Oh, Josie." Sam sighed slightly and gently caressed her cheek. "I'm not going anywhere. You're my best friend too and the love of my life. I'm not going anywhere." Josie was too choked with emotion to speak. Instead she let her smile and her eyes convey the emotions she was feeling.

"Josie! Up here!" Gibby waved frantically from the top row of the stadium stands, desperately trying to get the blond girl's attention. Josie and Aldys waved back in acknowledgement as they climbed the flight of stairs and joined Gibby and her friends. "Where have you been?" She demanded anxiously. "I thought we were suppose to meet at the gate at seven o'clock. The games going to start in ten minutes." Looking pointedly at Aldys she added crisply. "I hope nothing held you up."

"Actually, its my fault that we're late, Gibby." Josie told the dark haired girl as she and Aldys sat on the end of the top row. "I asked her to pick me up at six-forty-five, but I didn't end up getting home until about seven then I had to change. I had a few errands to do downtown and they took me longer than I expected."

"Well, I guess the main thing is that you're here now." Gibby commented, still giving Aldys a cool look.

"So what have we missed?" Josie asked, looking out to the field where the team was warming up. Squinting slightly as if she was trying to find someone she finally asked. "I don't see Rob. Is he out there?"

"Didn't you hear?" Kirstin asked eagerly.

"Hear what?" Josie asked, playing along with them.

"That poor Robbie Rob hurt his knee during practice this afternoon." Kristen pouted, a real sorrowful look on her face.

"Oh, that's awful!" Aldys exclaimed, also putting in a very good performance. Josie had told her on the way over that Rob was going to feign an injury to get out of playing in the championship game. "I hope he's not too disappointed about it."

"He's taking it surprisingly well." Guy commented from his seat in front of Josie and Gibby. "Especially since all he talked about last week was the big game. Well, that and Prom."

"But I bet the game came first." Josie commented knowingly.

Guy nodded and laughed. "Doesn't everything that involves baseball."

Josie laughed again. "I see you've come to know Rob very well. So where's the big baseball freak now?"

Guy pointed towards the home team's dugout and replied. "He told me earlier that Coach Romano is going to let him be Assistant coach for the night. He seemed excited about that."

"He would be." Josie remarked with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. "I think that guy was born with a baseball in one hand and a mitt in the other." Her companions all chuckled with knowing amusement.

"Hey, there's Mr. _Coo_lson!" Kristen exclaimed excitedly, pointing towards the bottom of the stands to where Sam and a blond-haired woman were carefully scanning the crowd.

"Who's that with him?" Tommy asked curiously.

"His girlfriend maybe." Guy suggested as they all peered curiously at the pair at the bottom of the stairs.

"She looks too old to be his girlfriend." Jason commented seriously. "I mean, I know Mr. C.'s old, but I don't think he's that old." His comment caused Josie to bite her lip to keep from replying.

"She's not his girlfriend." Kirstin assured them matter-of-factly.

"How do you know?" Tommy asked looking at her in surprise.

"Because I heard that he and his girlfriend just broke up." She told him, her eyes sparkling with delight when she realized she had some juicy gossip they didn't know. "Apparently he decided that he didn't want to move to New York after all and sent her packing."

"How do you know this?" Josie blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Cynthia Payne told me." Kirstin told her in a tone that clearly indicated that she should have known that. "And Sally Henderson told her and she got it from Sarah Ford who's cousin's step-sister's boyfriend's niece lives in Mr. Coulson's apartment building." She frowned slightly as she added. "Though I understand that he now longer lives in that apartment anymore."

"Guess you're going to have to find a new gossip line to get your Mr. _Cool_son bulletins from." Guy remarked a trifle sarcastically.

"I guess so." Kirstin acknowledged a little sadly. It had taken her the better part of her freshman year to find that connection to her favorite teacher's private life.

"I'd say she's his mother." Jason remarked, drawing everyone's attention back to Sam and his companion. "She looks like she could be his mother."

"Then he's got one foxy looking mother." Tommy exclaimed with a laugh.

Behind the boys' backs Josie blushed a deep shade of red for the woman under discussion was not Sam's mother, but her own. But what she was doing there and with Sam was a mystery. Sam had left Josie at her apartment to meet Aldys and then had continued on, supposedly to go home and do some unpacking. He'd said that he probably wouldn't be at the game since he had so much to do to get ready for exams the next week and his apartment was still in complete disarray since he hadn't had any time to unpack yet. They'd made arrangements to meet the next morning for breakfast before going to the school to talk to Jack Harding, the principle. So what was he doing here now and with her mother?

"Let's invite them to join us." Gibby suggested to the others as she started waving her hands over her head trying to attract the pairs' attention. "Mr. Coulson! Mrs. Coulson!"

Sam looked up when he heard his name being called and spotted Josie sitting beside the waving Gibby. Raising a hand to acknowledge that he'd seen them, he said something to his companion before they climbed the stairs to meet them.

Josie looked at the other girl and corrected. "That's not Sa…I mean Mr. Coulson's mother."

"How do you know?" Gibby asked curiously

"Because she's…she's, ah, Rob's mother." Josie stuttered slightly as her mother and Sam finally joined them.

"Hi Josie, girls." Janet Geller smiled at Josie and her companions warmly. She knew she probably shouldn't be there, but she couldn't help herself. She'd been dying of curiosity to see how her daughter was managing being in the High school environment for the second time around. When she'd heard about the championship game and had learned that Josie was gong with the 'popular' kids, Janet decided she'd take the opportunity to observe her daughter in action, especially since she had the excuse of coming to watch her son play on the team.

Josie looked at her mother and gave her a welcoming smile. "Hi, Mrs.…" Her eyes widened as she realized that she couldn't call her mother by her last name without giving everything away.

Fortunately her mother was quick on her feet. As if reading her daughter's mind she said. "Josie dear, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Janet. You and Rob have known each other since you were babies. I think we've gone past the 'Mrs.' Thing."

Josie flushed slightly as she said. "Sorry. It just seems so impolite to call you 'Janet'_." Especially since you're my mother._ Josie finished silently.

"Nonsense." Janet Geller dismissed with a wave of her hand. Then looking at the others she asked eagerly. "Now are you going to introduce me to your friends or do I have to do it myself."

Giving her mother a knowing look she proceeded to make the introductions. "Janet, this is Gibby, Kirstin, Kristen, Guy, Tommy and Jason. And I guess you've already met Mr. Coulson."

"Yes, he was kind enough to offer to help me find you after I spoke to Rob." Glancing at Sam she added sincerely. "I thought that was very nice of him."

"Oh, Mr. _Cool_son is always nice." Kristen gushed slightly as she gave her teacher an appreciative smile.

Sam flushed slightly with embarrassment at the teenage girl's comment. Looking at Janet he said. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to your visiting. It was very nice to meet you."

"You don't have to go." Janet quickly assured him. Then putting a gentle hand on his arm she invited. "Why don't you stay and watch the game with us. We'd love to have your company, wouldn't we girls?" The glanced at the five girls before her, her eyes resting ever so slightly longer on Josie than the others.

"Well, I…" He hesitated slightly, glancing at Josie to see what she thought about the idea. She gave him a smile and an almost imperceptible nod.

"Please, Mr. Coulson." Gibby pleaded unashamedly. "Please stay and watch the game with us. It'll be so rufus!"

Sam couldn't help but chuckle at her plea. "Well, since you asked so nicely, how can I say no."

"Yes." The three 'popular' girls cheered victoriously.

"Here, you can sit right here." Gibby invited, scooting over slightly and patting the empty space between herself and Josie.

Sam eyed the small space momentarily than suggested innocently. "Why don't you slide over a little more so that Janet can sit down as well." Gibby frowned slightly but did as he asked. Ever the gentleman Sam turned to Josie's mother and said. "Ladies first."

Janet gave him a knowing smile. "Why thank you, Sam." As the pair claimed their seats Janet glanced down at the ballfield and commented with awe. "Wow, we're higher up than I thought. The players look like little ants down there." She was so intent on watching the players that she failed to notice that the man beside her tense up in fear. Her daughter, however, noticed it instantly.

Wracking her brain to think of a way to help him relax, Josie finally came up with an idea. Casually crossing her arms she leaned against Sam, using her left arm to conceal the fact that her right hand was wrapped around his right bicep. When he turned to look at her she flashed him a reassuring smile and gave his arm a gentle squeeze.

Sam smiled back and mirrored her posture, using his right arm and her left to hide the fact that he was now holding her hand tightly in his own. Squeezing her hand tightly in his he gave her a tender smile. Sam still found it amazing that one simple touch from Josie was all it took to calm his fears. He was so lost in the feel of Josie's touch that it took him several moments to realize that Gibby was talking to him. Turning his attention from Josie to Gibby he leaned forward to see passed Janet and said apologetically. "I'm sorry, Gibby, I wasn't listening. What was that again?"

"I was just wondering what your plans were for the summer." Gibby replied, an expectant look on her face as well as those of her companions.

"Well, I haven't really thought about it." He admitted honestly. "I'm planning to go to Wisconsin next month to visit my folks." He didn't change where his focus was centered, but he did give Josie's hand a squeeze as if to silently assure her that she was part of that plan. "And just today I signed up to play baseball with a locally sponsored team."

"Which team is that?" Jason asked curiously. "Maybe we'll come watch you play sometime."

"Definitely." Gibby, Kristen and Kirstin exclaimed simultaneously.

"I'll be playing on the Chicago Sun-Times team." Sam told them proudly.

"The Chicago Sun-Times team?" Janet Geller exclaimed in surprise. "But I thought only employees were allowed to play on that team." She glanced at Josie over Sam's head.

"Apparently this year they've decided to let friends and family participate too." Sam explained, trying to ignore the silent conversation that seemed to be transpiring over his head between the two Geller women.

Josie knew exactly what her mother's expression was asking. Did this mean that Gus knew the truth about her and Sam? And since friends and family members were now allowed to play on the team, had she signed Rob up for the team too? Josie nodded yes to both unspoken questions.

"Who do you know at the Chicago Sun-Times?" Gibby asked curiously.

"My girlfriend's a reporter there." Sam told them proudly, fighting the urge to look at Josie as he said it.

Kirstin gave him a confused look. "I thought your girlfriend was a lawyer in New York. I also thought I heard that you two had broken up a couple weeks ago."

Sam gave the teenage girl a mildly amused look. "I didn't realize my personal life was open to such public knowledge."

Kirsten shrugged slightly and said. "The personal life of any handsome, eligible guy is always open to public knowledge." Josie looked at Aldys, trying to hid the deeply amused look that was on her face as Sam flushed brightly at the younger woman's words.

"So did you and your girlfriend break up or not?" Kristen pressed curiously.

Collecting himself Sam managed to answer her question. "Yes, Lara, my old girlfriend, and I broke up two weeks ago. She is a lawyer in New York."

"So you've got a new girlfriend now." Gibby commented, obviously deeply interested in his response.

"That's right." Sam nodded.

"So when did you and this new girlfriend of yours get together?" Kirstin prodded.

Sam grinned indulgently and replied. "Josie and I started dating this weekend."

"Josie?" The three girls exclaimed in surprise.

"Your girlfriend's name is Josie?" Gibby repeated.

Sam silently chided himself for his slip but nodded his head. "Yes, her name is Josie."

Leaning around Sam to look at her friend Gibby teased. "I bet you wish you were that Josie, eh?"

Josie blushed slightly but managed to keep her tone even as she replied. "She certainly is a lucky woman."

"Very lucky." Kristen sighed deeply. "I hope she realizes it too because we're all so envious of her." Josie squeezed Sam's hand tightly to assure him that she did realize just how lucky she was.

Fighting the urge to turn and look at Josie, Sam told Kristen sincerely. "I'm the lucky one." Giving Josie's hand another squeeze he added. "I'm the one who's lucky enough to have the love of the most amazing woman I have ever met." Because his head was turned away from her Sam didn't notice the tears well up in Josie's eyes or the tender smile that was on her lips. But someone else did.

A suspicious frown appeared on Guy Perkins face as he watched the variety of emotions that played across Josie's face as Sam spoke to Kirstin, Gibby and Kristen about his new girlfriend. At first he thought that it was because she had a crush on him just like the other three girls did. But then when Sam had said that he and his new girlfriend had gotten together over the weekend he'd remembered what Rob had told him earlier about Josie and the guy that she liked. And the fact that Mr. Coulson's new girlfriend's name was 'Josie' made him even more suspicious. Could she be the one that he was talking about? He'd noticed how cozy they seemed to be sitting there together, their arms pressed closely together. He's also noticed on more than one occasion how Mr. Coulson would look at Josie when he thought no one was looking. And the way he'd stared almost longingly at her when she and Guy had been dancing during the King and Queen dance at Prom seem to clearly indicate the depth of his attraction to her. But was Josie really a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times instead of a seventeen-year-old High School student? And if so, what was she doing at South Glen South masquerading as a High School student? Guy was at a total loss for answers to any of his questions. He examined the pair more closely, noticing that both were unaware of his scrutiny since they were engrossed in their own conversations - Josie with Aldys and Mr. Coulson with Janet and the others. As he examined their faces and their demeanor nothing seemed amiss. They both seemed open and friendly, there wasn't any outward appearance of any deceit or misconceptions. Guy began to wonder if he was just allowing his imaginations and his feelings for Josie get the better of him when Sam suddenly lifted his right hand to scratch the back of his head. It was obviously an unconscious movement, because he just continued with his conversation as if nothing had happened, but something had. He'd just given away the fact that neatly and comfortably tucked in his left hand was Josie's right.

Josie smiled as she took a sip of her herbal tea. It had been a wonderful evening. The Rams had won seven to five, Aldys had been grudgingly accepted by the 'in' crowd and even invited to go shopping with the girls on Friday after school and most importantly Sam had been there. And thanks to her mother they'd even gotten a few minutes alone together.

It had been just before the fifth inning when her mother had suddenly decided that she wanted a hot dog and a drink. She'd then offered to treat the whole gang to a drink and Frankfurt, which she proceeded to commission Sam and Josie to go and get. The two had eagerly obliged, both secretly thanking Janet Geller for her generosity and her sneakiness.

As the couple had made their way from the stands to the refreshment cart Josie had asked Sam what he was doing there. "I thought you had exams to prepare for and boxes to unpack." She'd commented as they'd walked along, side by side.

"I do." He'd replied with a nod of confirmation. "And I had every intention of doing some unpacking tonight."

"So what happened?" She'd pressed curiously.

"I got home to my apartment, walked in the door and felt…lonely." He'd given her such a tender look that Josie felt her knees start to go weak. "I missed you." He'd whispered softly.

"I missed you too." She'd assured him warmly, secretly wishing that nobody else were around so she could show him how much she missed him when he wasn't around. Instead she'd added. "But you have to get your exams written. You're suppose to be giving them next week."

"I'm not worried about the exams." He'd told her honestly. "It's the unpacking that I'm concerned about."

"Why's that?" Josie'd asked curiously. "Because there's so much of it?"

"No, that doesn't even bother me." He'd commented, still not directly answering her question.

"Samuel Coulson, will you please spit it out!" She'd finally exclaimed in growing impatience. "What is it about unpacking that has you worried?"

"Well, for starters," He'd began thoughtfully. "I'm not sure where to put the fuzzy poke-a-dot elephant or the crazy leopard with the lime green spots."

Josie'd started to laughed in amusement as she caught his meaning, remembering the fun she and Joanne Harper had had while they were packing up Sam's stuff. Near the end as they were getting tired of their task, they'd started labeling some of Sam's boxes with fancier labels than others. "Don't forget the purple and orange stripped platypus and the man-eating lion."

"I think I should make you and Jo come and unpack those since you decided to label them with such helpful descriptions." Sam had commented as they approached the cart.

"But that takes all the fun out of it." Josie had pouted in a playful tone. "Besides, if we helped you you'd never be able to find the fuzzy poke-a-dot leopard or the crazy elephant with lime green spots."

"Actually, it was a fuzzy poke-a-dot _elephant_ and a crazy _leopard_ with lime green spots." Sam had corrected after he'd placed his order with the cart vendor.

"Oh, excuse me." She'd rolled her eyes heavenward. "My mistake."

"Hey, you were the one that labeled the boxes, not me." He'd exclaimed, holding up his hands in a defensive posture. The pair laughed and gathered up their order.

On the way back to the stands with their stash they'd made arrangements to meet at _Perks_ after the game. As Josie fingered the mug that bore the coffee shop's green and yellow logo she couldn't help but smile at the thought of how quickly this was becoming 'their' spot. They'd only been dating for about seventy-two hours and this was their third time here. The sudden ring of her cellphone quickly brought Josie out of her musings.

"Hello?" She greeted her caller pleasantly.

"Hi." An unfamiliar voice greeted warmly on the other end. "Is this Josie?"

"Yes it is." Josie affirmed, trying hard to place the voice and failing. "Who's this?"

"I'm Abby Waite." The other woman replied pleasantly. "I'm Sam's big sister."

"Oh, yes of course." Josie acknowledged in a friendly tone. "Sam's told me a lot about you. How's everything in California?"

"Hot." Abby replied with a slight chuckle. "But then when is it not hot in California?"

"Hey, don't knock it." Josie commented lightly. "At least you don't have to shovel snow."

"True enough." Abby agreed with a smile. "I did enough of that when I lived in Wisconsin." Then changing the subject she said. "Look, I'm sorry to bother you on your private cell, but Sam gave me this number in case of an emergency."

"Is everything all right?" Josie asked, her tone filling with concern.

"Yeah, everything's fine here." The other woman quickly assured her. "It's my brother I'm worried about."

"What do you mean?" Josie frowned slightly in confusion.

"Well, he called me up Friday night - actually it was about one-thirty Saturday morning - all happy and excited about the two of you getting together, but then after that he falls off the face of the earth." Abby told her, her concern evident in her tone. "I tried calling him all day Saturday and then again Sunday evening, but there was no answer. And now when I call his place I get a recording saying that the number has been disconnected, but no forwarding number is listed. Do you happen to know where that brother of mine has disappeared to?"

Josie smiled brightly as Sam walked through the door of the coffee shop at that very moment. "As a matter of fact I do." She assured the other woman. "He's meeting me for coffee and he just walked in the door." Her smile broadened as Sam reached the table, leaned down and gave her a kiss and whispered 'Hi Beautiful' before claiming the seat across from her. Giggling slightly she said to Abby. "Here he is." Holding the phone out to Sam she said. "It's for you." When he gave her a surprised look she added. "It's your sister."

Sam smiled slightly and took the offered phone. Putting it to his ear he greeted warmly. "Hey, Ab what's up?"

"Don't I get a 'Hi, Beautiful' too?" Abby teased, pretending to be insulted at his greeting.

"Sorry." Sam replied with a chuckle. "I only say 'Hi, Beautiful' to one woman and that's not you."

"Gee, thanks Squirt." She retorted with mock-sarcasm. "So where have you been hiding these last few days? I've been trying to call you all weekend but you haven't been around. Then tonight I called and got a recorded message saying that your number was no longer in service."

"I moved to my new apartment this weekend." Sam reminded her with amusement. "Remember the one that you encouraged me to take because it would give me a fresh start without memories of Lara, etc, etc."

"Oh, yeah, _that_ apartment." Abby recalled with a laugh. "I completely forgot about that."

"Getting forgetful in your old age, are you Ab?" Her brother teased mercilessly.

"Hey, I'm not that much older than you, bub." She retorted with pretend annoyance. "So what's the place like? It's closer to the school right?"

Sam hesitated for a moment before saying gently. "Listen, Abby, no offense or anything but…"

"But your on a date with Josie and would greatly appreciate it if you nosey big sister would just shut up and hang up." Abby finished good-naturedly.

Sam smiled and objected. "I wouldn't put it quite that way, but that's the basic idea, yes."

"It's okay, I understand." She assured him as she let out an exaggerated sigh. "I know when I'm not wanted. I guess I'll just have to go and drown my hurt feelings in a good cup of tea." The pair both chuckled in amusement. "But before I let you go back to your date, when do you think you might be getting a phone? I mean I wouldn't want to keep interrupting your dates with Josie."

"They said something about coming sometime between noon tomorrow and five o'clock next week." He told her teasingly.

Abby laughed in amusement. "At least they gave you a definite appointment. Just don't forget to give me your new number or else I will harass you during your dates."

"Is that a threat?" He challenged.

"No," She replied innocently. "More like a promise. I'll be in touch."

Sam laughed lightly and promised. "So will I."

"Say 'bye' to Josie for me." She commented.

"I will." He acknowledged, giving Josie a warm smile.

"And Sam," Abby added in a serious tone.

"Yeah?"

"She seems really terrific." His sister told him sincerely.

Reaching over to squeeze Josie's hand he echoed with heart-felt feeling. "She is."

"Love ya, Squirt." Abby said. "Take care."

"I will." He promised. "Love you too." Hitting the end button he handed the phone back to Josie. "Abby said to say 'bye'."

Josie smiled with pleasure. "I think I'm going to really like your sister."

Sam smiled and squeezed her hand again. "Well she really likes you too."

"So what's happening between noon tomorrow and five o'clock next week?" She asked curiously as he signaled to a passing waitress that he'd like a coffee.

"That's when the Phone Company is suppose to come and hook up my phone." He told her.

"Nice of them to give you such a definite time frame." She commented with mild sarcasm. "Makes it a lot easier to plan your week."

"Actually they said it would be tomorrow sometime between noon and five." Sam admitted as the waitress he'd signaled brought him a cup of coffee. "Thank you." He acknowledged.

"Can I get you anything else?" The young woman asked pleasantly.

"No thanks, Sarah." Sam acknowledged, reading the girl's nametag. "I'm fine."

"I wouldn't mind another pot of hot water, Sarah." Josie requested.

"Sure, Josie." The girl nodded. "I'll be right back."

When the girl left Sam looked at her in surprise. "You know her?"

Josie shook her head. "Just met her tonight when I came in. She commented that she'd seen us here on Friday. She goes to Northwestern."

"That's where you went to college, right?" He remarked as he poured some cream in his coffee.

"That's right." She nodded. "Sarah even has some of my old professors. Isn't that right, Sarah?" She asked the girl as she set the full tea pot in front of her.

"That's right." She nodded. "And one of them you can keep. Oh, I can't stand Professor Marshall. What a pompous baffoon that guy is! He is so full of himself."

"True, but he does know his subject well." Josie commented honestly.

"That's true." Sarah grudgingly agreed. Then noticing the new customers coming in dismissed herself and went to wait on them.

Sam chuckled. "She seems like a nice enough girl."

Josie nodded. "Yeah, she seems all right." Then turning her attention back to their previous conversation she asked. "So what are you going to do about the Phone Company? You have classes all day tomorrow, don't you?"

Sam nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. "I also have a staff meeting at four which will be at least an hour." Setting his coffee down he sighed and continued. "I guess I have no choice but to go home for my lunch break and hope that they show between noon and twelve-thirty. And if they don't then I'll go back after my last class finishes at two and stay until I have to go back for the staff meeting at four."

"That's an awful lot of running around." Josie commented in dismay. "I mean I know your new apartment is a lot closer to the school than your old one, but that's still an awful lot of wasted time."

"I know." Sam agreed with nod. "But I don't really have much choice. "They don't do installations on the weekend at it'll be at least two or three weeks before I'm off during the week. I can't go that long without a phone." He noticed Josie glance at her cell. "And I can't have everyone I know harassing you whenever they want to get a hold of me."

Josie gave the situation several moments thought before suggesting. "Why don't I wait for the Phone Company for you?"

"What do you mean?" He frowned slightly as he set his coffee cup back down after taking a sip. "You have work too."

"I know, but right now my schedule is a bit more flexible than yours." She commented. "I could just as easily do my work at your place as anywhere." She replied. "I mean, technically I'm not a High School student, so if I play hooky from its not exactly going to count against me and now that Gus knows the truth I don't have to keep up the charade for his benefit. I have a laptop and all my notes I could quite easily do my work at your apartment. That way you don't have to run back and forth half a dozen times in hope of catching the Phone Company." With a twinkle in her eye she added teasingly. "Maybe I can even find a spot to put the fuzzy poke-a-dot elephant and the crazy leopard with the lime green spots."

Sam chuckled in amusement and added. " Don't forget the purple and orange stripped platypus and the man-eating lion."

"I won't." Josie laughed lightly. "So it's a deal?"

"Deal." He acknowledged, looking at her tenderly for several moments.

"What?" She pressed when he didn't say anything for several moments.

Reaching over to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear he gave her a warm smile and said. "You are amazing, Josie Geller." Josie blushed with pleasure, her heart pounding fiercely against her chest.

It was just after seven when Josie pulled up in front of Sam's apartment building the next morning. Getting out of the car she grabbed her briefcase, duffel bag and the case that contained her laptop. Then leaning back into the front seat she grabbed the cardboard tray that held two cups of steaming Starbucks coffee and a bag of fresh Danishes. Using her foot she kicked closed the driver's door of the Buick and headed for the apartment building. She arrived at the front door at the same time as a young woman sporting jogging clothes and sneakers.

"Here, let me get that for you." The dark-haired girl offered, her tone slightly breathless from her exercise. "You seem to have your hands full."

"Thanks." Josie acknowledged with a slight chuckle as she moved through the door. "I was wondering how I was going to get that opened."

"You live here?" The girl asked after they'd made it into the lobby.

"No." Josie replied as she shifted her burdens slightly. "My boyfriend just moved in on Sunday."

"You don't mean that really cute guy that just moved into 1215, do you?" Her companion asked with obvious dismay.

"That's him." Josie nodded as they waited for the elevator. "Have you met him already?"

"Not yet." The girl replied honestly then admitted. "I just watched him as he moved in the other day. You've got yourself quite a good-looking guy there. I was hoping he was unattached."

"Sorry to disappoint you." Josie said with a grin as she once again shifted her packages. "But he's spoken for."

"You want a hand with that stuff?" The other woman offered willingly.

Josie hesitated for a moment than agreed. "That would be great." She surrendered the tray of coffee and Danishes to her new acquaintance then shifted her other bags, distributing their weight more evenly.

"By the way, I'm Nikki Finlay." The girl introduced with a smile. "I live in apartment 1212."

"So I guess that would make you and Sam neighbors." Josie commented as the elevator chimed and the doors opened.

"I guess it would." Nikki replied as they stepped into the elevator car and she selected the twelfth floor. "So what's your name?"

Josie flushed slightly at her lack of manners. "Josie. Josie Geller."

"Well, its nice to meet you Josie Geller." Then looking at all the stuff that Josie was carrying she asked curiously. "So, are you moving in too?"

Josie flushed again and shook her head. "No, I'm just apartment sitting for the day. Sam has to go to work and the Phone Company is suppose to be here to hook up his phone sometime between noon and five."

Nikki rolled her eyes and commented sarcastically. "Don't you just love their definite appointment schedule?"

Josie laughed. "Yeah, it makes life sooo much simpler." The two women chuckled as the elevator doors opened on the twelfth floor and they got off. They walked in silence down the hall to Sam's apartment where Josie knocked lightly on the door.

"Just a minute!" They heard Sam call from inside before the door opened a few moments later to reveal Sam dressed in the same blue shirt and black pants that he was wearing the day Josie met him. His green eyes lit up and a broad grin spread across his face as he greeted his precious visitor. "Morning Beautiful." Not even noticing Nikki who was standing beside Josie he leaned forward to place a tender kiss on Josie's smiling lips. It wasn't until he pulled away that he realized that they weren't alone. Flushing slightly he looked at Josie's companion and said pleasantly. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Sam Coulson."

"Nikki Finlay." Nikki returned brightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sam."

"You a friend of Josie's?" He asked curiously. He didn't recall hearing the name before.

"No, just a Good Samaritan doing my good deep for the day." She replied with a slight chuckle as she held out the cardboard tray she was holding to Sam.

As Sam accepted the tray Josie explained. "Nikki was kind enough to open the door for me and help me carry some of this stuff up here. Speaking of which, this stuff is getting kind of heavy. Are you planning on keeping us out here all day, Coulson?"

"I'm sorry, honey." Sam quickly apologized and moved out of the doorway to let them in. Josie moved inside immediately but Nikki hesitated, remaining uncertainly in the doorway. As Josie dumped her bags on the couch Sam looked curiously at her. "Would you like to come in?"

The girl continued to hesitate. "I don't want to intrude."

"You're not intruding." Sam quickly assured her. "We were just going to have breakfast, which I believe you helped carry up. The least you can do now is help us eat it."

Nikki chuckled slightly. "Well how can I refuse an offer like that?" She stepped into the apartment and glanced around. With an amused smile she remarked. "I see you've really delved into your unpacking."

"He's hoping that some little elves will mysteriously appear and put all this away for him." Josie commented, giving Sam a teasing look.

Sam chuckled and tossed an arm across her shoulders and retorted. "No, I'm just hoping you'll get tired of hearing me complain and do it for me."

Shoving him gently away Josie laughed lightly. "In your dreams, Coulson!" When Sam reached out to grab her again Josie giggled and danced out of reach. Slapping his hands away she ordered. Go get some plates so we can eat. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hungry."

"Yes, ma'am." Sam saluted teasingly before heading for the kitchen, mumbling jokingly to himself, but loud enough for them to hear. "Women can be so bossy."

"Men can be such babies." Josie looked at Nikki and rolled her eyes dramatically. The two women chuckled as Sam stuck his tongue out at them before disappearing into the kitchen.

"I know exactly what you mean." The other girl in amusement as frantic rummaging started coming from the other room. The two women glanced towards the kitchen and chuckled again. "I have four brothers: two older and two younger."

"Poor you." Josie commiserated with mock sympathy. "I only have one brother and he's enough of a handful." Gesturing to the couch she urged her new friend. "Have a seat."

"How old is he?" Nikki asked curiously as she sat on the end of the couch beside where Josie had settled in Sam's favorite recliner.

"Rob's twenty-three going on fifteen." Josie laughed. "But he's actually pretty terrific as far as brothers go."

"Yeah, mine are pretty great too." Nikki agreed. "We're all very close. We like to pick on each other a lot, of course. But were always there to support each other too."

"How old are your brothers?" Josie asked curiously.

"Mike's the oldest, he's thirty-two; Chet comes next, he's twenty-seven."

"Same age as Sam." Josie remarked with a smile.

"Really?" Nikki exclaimed. "That's neat. So how old are you?"

"Twenty-five." The other girl told her. "How about yourself?"

"I'm twenty-five too." Nikki told her excitedly. "Where did you go to High School?"

"Lake View." Josie replied. "On Ashland Avenue. Where did you go?"

"Lincoln Park." Her new friend replied. "It's over on Orchard."

"I think that's where Sam went." Josie commented in surprise. Turning her head towards the kitchen where Sam was still searching for plates Josie called. "Sam, you went to Lincoln Park High School, didn't you?"

"That's right." He called back, not even stopping in his efforts.

"So you would have gone to school with my brother than." Nikki told him eagerly.

"Who's your brother?" Sam asked as he appeared in the doorway. Looking at Josie he sighed in resignation. "I can't find the plates. Would you be terribly offended if we just ate with our fingers?"

Josie chuckled and rose to her feet. "Here, let me look."

As she disappeared into the kitchen Sam looked back to Nikki and asked. "Sorry about that. Who's your brother?"

"Chet Finlay." Nikki replied. "He played Short stop on Lincoln Park's baseball team for three years."

"Sam's face broke into a wide smile. "I remember Chet. About six-two, black hair, twisted sense of humor."

"That's him." She acknowledged with a knowing smile.

"We played ball together for three years." He told her excitedly. "In fact I think he roomed with my best friend, Jonathan and I for a couple of Away games." He looked thoughtful for a minute as he tried to remember something. "He liked to play the guitar, didn't he? I seem to remember him working on some song he was trying to write."

"_Blue Eyes and Soft Lips_." Nikki replied proudly. "He's trying to get it recorded."

"Really? That's great!" Sam exclaimed delightedly as Josie appeared out of the kitchen with four plates in her hand. "If I remember correctly he was very talented."

"Ready to eat?" Josie asked Sam as she put the Danishes on one of the plates she held.

"Where did you find those?" Sam asked, looking at Josie with evident amazement. "I'm sure I looked through every box in that kitchen."

Josie just gave him a mysterious look as she turned to Nikki and asked. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Actually, I'll just have a glass of water, if I may." She requested.

"You may if the Great Josie Geller Houdini can find the glasses." Sam commented, giving his blond girlfriend a challenging look.

"No problem." Josie replied, a bright smile on her face. "I'll be back in a jiffy with the water."

As she disappeared into the kitchen Sam looked at Nikki and shook his head. "She'll never find them." The moment the words were out of his mouth Josie was back, a glass of water in hand. "How did you do that so fast?"

"Easy." Josie told him evasively as she handed Nikki the glass. "It's called Women's Intuition. I just sensed what was in the boxes."

"Then you can 'sense' them out of the boxes and into their proper places so us poor men can find what we're looking for without having to dig for an hour." He told her with mild teasing.

Josie merely chuckled and urged. "Come on, we'd better get cracking if were going to talk to your boss before school starts."

Sam glanced at his watch and exclaimed in surprise. "It's already twenty-to-eight. We'd better get a move on."

Despite his words the three of them still enjoyed a relaxed and leisurely breakfast getting to know one another better. About ten after eight Sam announced that he had to go. Josie rose with him and explained to Nikki that she had a meeting to go too, but that she'd be back later on if the other woman wanted to return.

"I may just take you up on that." She'd commented eagerly as the three of them walked to the door. "It was really nice meeting you both." She told them sincerley. "Hopefully we'll get a chance to get together again soon."

"We'd like that." Josie assured her as they walked down the hall.

Stopping in front of her apartment Nikki remarked. "Well this is my stop. If you ever want to stop by feel free."

"Thanks." Josie smiled at her warmly. When the girl disappeared into her apartment Sam and Josie continued to the elevator. They were both silent for several minutes as they waited for the car to arrive. "You nervous about talking to Jack?"

"You mean about us?" Sam questioned, looking at her in surprise. When she nodded he denied. "No, of course not. Jack's a good guy, he'll understand." He hesitated for a moment before adding. "At least I think he'll understand." When he noticed that Josie didn't look convinced he admitted. "Okay, I'm nervous about talking to Jack about us. I mean this is my career were talking about. Not that I'm saying my career is more important than us." He paused as he tried to find the words to explain himself. "I guess I'm just saying that it would be nice to have both. You know what I'm saying?"

"I know _exactly_ what you're saying." Josie assured him honestly.

Sam gave hre a warm smile and nodded. "I know you do." Then lifting his arms he encouraged. "Come here." As Josie stepped into his arms he pulled her close. "I love you."

"I love you too." She returned, her head lying against his chest. After a few moments she looked at him and said comfortingly. "Don't worry, Sam. No matter what happens we're in this together."

Sam smiled and reached up to push a loose curl behind her ear. "Josie, you have no idea how much hearing you say that means to me. I love you so much and the only thing I really, really care about is us being together. If I have to, I can find a job somewhere else. It's replaceable, you're not."

"I feel the same way about you." She told him sincerely, proving her words by leaning up and giving him a tender kiss.

Sam looked at Josie nervously before lifting his hand and knocking lightly on the door of the principle's office. When a cheery voice called for him to come in Sam gave Josie another anxious look before opening the door and poking his head inside. "Morning Jack." He greeted in as normal a voice as he could manage. "You got a minute?"

"For you, anytime." Jack Harding replied as he motioned for Sam to come in, raising an inquisitive eyebrow when Josie followed him inside. "Miss Geller? If it isn't our beautiful Prom Queen. To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

Glancing at Sam nervously for a moment she turned back to Jack and said. "Sam and I have something we need to talk to you about."

Jack raised his eyebrow again at the familiar way in which Josie addressed Sam but he didn't comment on it. Instead he gestured to the two seats across from his desk and encouraged. "Please, have a seat." When they were seated he asked curiously. "What can I do for you?"

Sam looked at Josie for a moment before commenting anxiously. "I don't quite know where to start."

Taking a deep breath Josie began her tale. "About three months ago I came to South Glen South as a transfer student."

Jack nodded his head in confirmation. "Yes, I remember reading your file. Very impressive. And I must admit that it was very nice to see you crowned Prom Queen. It was nice to see someone win who truly deserved to be Prom Queen."

Josie blushed with pleasure and murmured. "Thank you."

"So, what can I do for you?" He asked eagerly as he folded his hands on his desktop. "Are you wanting a letter of reference for college?"

"No." Josie shook her head and took a deep breath. "That's not it."

"So what is it?" Jack prompted curiously.

Josie sighed and looked at Sam ironically. "I've done this so often in the last four days you'd think I'd have it down pat by now." Sam reached over and gave hr hand a comforting squeeze, an action that wasn't lost on Jack. Gripping Sam's hand as if it were her lifeline Josie looked squarely at Jack and managed to explain their situation. "My name is Josie Geller and I'm an undercover reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. I came to South Glen South in March as a transfer student to do research about High School kids today for my article."

Jack gave her a scrutinizing look for several moments before looking at Sam. "Did you know about this?"

Sam shook his head. "Not until Friday night at the Prom. Josie told me the whole story then."

Narrowing his eyes slightly Jack gave the pair a pointed look. "It certainly didn't take you long to act on the news."

Sam took a deep breath, gave Josie's hand a tight squeeze and looked at his boss seriously. "I won't lie to you Jack, I was attracted to Josie before I knew that she wasn't my student. And I spent the last three months secretly beating myself up over it. I knew it wasn't right and I felt like such a heel that I could have allowed such a thing to happen. I'm still not proud of it, but I console myself with the fact that since Josie's not seventeen that she obviously seemed like a very mature seventeen year old. And I swear to you that I _never_ ever did _anything_ that would be considered inappropriate for a teacher/student relationship. All I tried to do was be her friend."

"He's telling the truth, Mr. Harding." Josie quickly assured him. "While I hoped that he felt the same way about me that I felt about him, I wasn't sure until _after_ I'd told him the truth about myself."

"What made you tell him the truth if you weren't sure if he was attracted to you or not?" Jack asked, his _expression hard to read.

"Because if nothing else _I_ loved _him_ and I wanted him to know the truth about me." Josie replied seriously. "I hated all the lying and the deception to start with, but I hated lying to and deceiving him even more."

"So Sam did absolutely nothing that would be considered inappropriate behavior for a teacher and his student?" Jack pressed, watching both of them carefully.

"Not at all." Josie quickly assured him. "He was nothing more than any teacher should be: a kind and caring friend who tried to encourage his student to be the best that she could be."

"Well then," Jack looked at the two of them for several minutes before finally leaning back in his chair and saying seriously. "I'd say your explanation of the situation is close enough to the other version I was told that there shouldn't be any problems. In fact, since nobody was hurt and no real teacher/student lines of propriety were crossed I think we can just keep this whole matter our little secret."

Sam and Josie looked at each other in confusion. "What other version?" Sam asked suspiciously. "Who's been telling tales out of school?"

"Aldys Wells, Scott Romano and Rob…" Jack paused for a moment before commenting. "What was Rob's last name? I don't think I got it."

"Geller." Josie told him matter-of-factly. "His name is Rob Geller."

Jack's eyebrows quirked slightly. "Relative of yours?"

"My younger brother." She told him simply. "Though I may be an only child once I get a hold of him."

"He a reporter too?" The other man asked curiously.

Josie shook her head. "No, he's just an amiable goof who was willing to help his sister get her first undercover story."

"I see." Jack commented with a smile. "I understand that 'amiable goof' is now our Assistant Coach. Think he'll do okay?"

Josie groaned and rolled her eyes heavenward. "That goof eats, breaths and sleeps baseball. He'll probably drive everyone nuts with his obsessiveness."

"As long as he helps us win." Jack commented with a smile. Then glancing at the pair before him he said teasingly. "Now get out of here you two, I have work to do."

Josie and Sam rose to their feet and gave the other man a grateful smile. Reaching over to shake the other man's hand Sam said eagerly. "Thanks a lot, Jack. We really appreciate your understanding and support in all this."

"Hey, true love is very hard to find." The other man commented with a slight twinkle in his eye. "Who am I to stand in its way? Besides Aldys, Rob and Scott make a very formidable team. I didn't stand a chance against them."

"I'll have to remember to thank them." Sam chuckled.

"Fifty dollars a piece in unmarked bills might do it." Jack teased as the pair headed out the door.

"I'll consider it." Sam laughed as he reached behind him to close the door.

When the pair was alone in the empty outer office they looked at each other in amazed surprise. Suddenly Josie let out an excited squeal and threw herself in Sam's arms. Sam responded by lifting her up and spining her around. When both were in danger of falling over with dizziness he stopped and put her down. Looking at her tenderly Sam said, his tone full of emotion. "You are amazing, Josie Geller. You are truly amazing."

Josie laughed and rested her hand on his chest. "You're pretty amazing yourself, Mr. Coulson."

"I love you." He whispered softly, his eyes fixed firmly on hers.

"I love you too." Josie returned before surrendering herself to his kiss.

Neither of them noticed Guy Perkins come around the corner and stop dead in the Main Office door, his eyes wide with shock as he watched the kissing pair.


	7. Chapter 7

Josie stretched her arms above her head and let out a slight moan as the cricks in her limbs protested her move. Glancing at the clock on her laptop she was surprised to see that it was already two o'clock. She'd been working on her story for almost three hours straight.

After leaving Sam at school Josie had come back to his apartment to change out of her business suit and into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She'd intended to get right to work on her story, but after glancing around the large living room and noting all the boxes pilled about the room she'd decided to sort through them and organize them according to rooms. It had taken her about an hour to get that done, but at least now Sam could find things a little easier whenever he went looking. It was then that she'd gotten the idea to take advantage of the fact that she'd be home all day to make Sam a home cooked supper. Glancing at her watch she'd realized that she had about two hours to get the stuff she needed before the Phone Company might possibly arrive.

An hour later she was back, her hands full of the ingredients needed to make Lasagna, Caesar salad and garlic bread. After rummaging around for a few minutes she finally found a frying pan and a large pot. After getting her sauce on simmering Josie had turned her attention to her story. Which is where it had remained fixed until just then.

Deciding that she needed to take a break Josie rose to her feet and headed for the kitchen. After checking on her sauce she glanced at the boxes scattered on the counter. Looking from the boxes to the cupboards thoughtfully for several moments she finally reached into one of the boxes and pulled out some plates, each individually wrapped in newspaper. Patiently and carefully she unwrapped each plate, stacking them on the counter as she went. After she finished she shoved the newspaper back into the box and tossed it on the floor, kicking it out of her way. After opening the cupboard doors, Josie finally decided on the best place to put them. She continued to do the same with each box, slowly and carefully putting everything away. As she emptied the last box Josie was pleasantly surprised to find that it had only taken her forty-five minutes to finish the task.

Encouraged by her progress she continued to the living room, eyeing the boxes that rested there. Her work there proved to be considerably slower as she was uncertain as to where Sam would want some of the things. She wasn't even sure where he wanted the bookcase to rest as it was just shoved against a wall behind his desk and a couple other cabinets. Deciding it best to just organize the boxes out of the way, she stacked them against the wall beside the furniture and continued on to the next room.

Standing in the doorway of the bedroom she shook her head at the sight before her. The bed frame, headboard and footboard sat in one corner of the room in separate pieces, while the boxspring and mattress lay on the floor, sheets and blankets in a tangled heap on top. Pushing herself off the doorframe Josie commented with a chuckle. "That man is so helpless sometimes. Oh, but he is adorable." Pulling the mattress and boxspring out of the way Josie set about putting the bed frame, headboard and footboard together in the same general area where the mattress and boxspring had been. Then with a little bit of effort and struggle she managed to get the boxspring and mattress set up in the frame. Grinning proudly she inspected her work. "Not bad if I do say so myself." Next she set about putting the sheets and blankets back on the bed, smoothing the wrinkles out of the bed spread when she finished.

Her attention then shifted to the empty bookcase that sat against the far wall. Noting that it was about the only place the bookshelf could go she decided to unpack the books she'd earlier removed from it. Opening the box that contained the volumes she set to work.

"I remember you." She told the _Count of Monte Cristo_ as she pulled the book out of the box and gave it a shake. "Don't you even _think_ about attacking me again." Just as she was putting the book on the shelf there was a knock at the apartment door. "Looks like the Phone Company's finally here."

Setting the box aside she rose to her feet and padded out to the living room to answer the door. Opening it she was shocked to find Guy Perkins standing in the hallway, his eyes dark with anger and hurt.

"Guy?" Josie looked at him in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find out the truth." He told her crisply.

"That truth?" Josie repeated nervously. "The truth about what?"

"The truth about you." He replied curtly. "I know your not who you've been trying to make us believe you are. You're not a seventeen-year-old student are you?" His eyes narrowed slightly as he waited for her to deny his accusation.

Instead she shook her head sadly and admitted honestly. "No. No, I'm not."

Surprised by her truthful reply Guy felt a lot of his initial anger seep away. "Why?" He finally asked, hurt written all over his face.

Josie sighed slightly. "It's a long story."

"I've got time." He told her, not willing to let her off that easy.

Josie nodded, knowing he deserved to know the truth. After all, it was because he had been willing to give her a chance that she'd been able to taste High School popularity. "Why don't you come in and we'll discuss this over a Coke."

Guy hesitated for a moment than nodded his head in agreement, stepping into the apartment. As Josie closed the door behind him he glanced around the room curiously. Noting the sparse décor and the full boxes he asked. "You moving out or moving in?"

"Neither." She commented lightly. "This isn't my apartment. I'm just doing a friend a favor and waiting for the Phone Company to come install the phones." Then suddenly a thought occurred to her. "How did you know where to find me anyway?"

Guy had the good manners enough to flush slightly as he admitted. "I followed you here from school this morning." Hurt appeared in his eyes again as he told her. "I saw you and Mr. Coulson kissing outside Mr. Harding's office this morning. And I was pretty sure I saw you two holding hands during the ball game last night." Josie's blush confirmed his suspicions. "When you left I decided to follow you."

"Why didn't you come see me then?" She asked curiously.

"Because unlike some people I still have school to attend." He told her crisply. "And I'm not about to jeopardize graduation for some two bit, lying reporter." Josie flinched slightly at his tone. As she scrambled to think of something to say he commented coolly. "So, you said something about a Coke and an explanation."

"Why don't you have a seat?" Josie offered, gesturing to the couch. "I'll get us both something to drink." Guy merely nodded before moving towards the couch. As Josie disappeared into the kitchen Guy sat, his eyes travelling carefully about the room. It didn't take much deducing to realize that this was Mr. Coulson's new place. He felt his heart constrict slightly at the thought. He knew he had no right to feel that way, after all Josie had lied and deceived him for her own purpose. But despite that, he still really liked and cared about her. When Rob had told him yesterday that Josie had her eye on someone else and that they'd gotten together over the weekend he had secretly hoped that the relationship wouldn't work out. He figured that if they broke up, than maybe he could win her over. But he knew now that the chances of that happening were virtually nil. Josie was not seventeen, she was no doubt at least five or six years older than himself and on top of that she was now involved with Sam Coulson, a guy more her own age. And Guy knew from just seeing that one kiss that the two of them were crazy about each other.

"Here you go." Josie's gentle voice interrupted his turmoiled thoughts. Looking up he accepted the glass she held out to him but didn't say anything. He watched silently as she moved to the recliner a few feet away and sank down into it, tucking her feet under her. Guy got the feeling that she was trying to put some distance between the two of them, both physically and emotionally.

It was several minutes before either of them spoke. Finally Josie's hesitant voice broke the uncomfortable silence. "I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt anyone. This whole thing started off so simple and innocent and then it just ended up spiraling completely out of my control."

Guy noted the distressed tone in her voice and softened his own slighlty as he prompted. "Why don't you tell me everything from the beginning?"

Josie gave him a wry smile. "Maybe I should just print a copy of it and hand it around. I've repeated this story about five or six times in the last four days."

"Who else have you told?" Guy asked, a deep frown appearing on his face.

Josie hesitated than replied honestly. "Sam for starters, then my best friend, Anita. She knew parts of the story, but not everything. Then Sam's best friend and his wife, then Aldys, then my boss and then Sam's boss this morning."

"Wait a minute? You told Mr. Coulson and all those other people _before_ you told me?" He exclaimed a trifle angrily. Then with hurt in his eyes he asked. "Why? _I'm_ the one that made you popular! I'm the one that gave you the chance to prove yourself by suggesting the Prom theme! If it hadn't been for me, you'd still be the same loser you were when you first arrived at South Glen South!" Seeing how much his words had hurt her he took a calming breath before saying with deep feeling. "I thought you and I had something special. I told you that you rocked my world."

"I know you did." Josie acknowledged softly, her voice barely above a choked whisper. "But I'm afraid things weren't really that simple."

"What do you mean?" He asked with clear confusion in his tone. "Is it because of our age difference?"

Josie shook her head and said seriously. "Let me start at the beginning." Taking a deep breath she outlined her history. "I graduated from Lake View High School about eight year ago. I then went to Northwestern for three years. When I graduated I started working as a copy editor for the Chicago Sun-Times. I've been there for the last five years. My biggest dream, however, was to be a reporter. I _love_ to write. It's always been a passion of mine." She flushed slightly as she added. "I've even been told I'm pretty good at it."

"So what happened?" Guy asked curiously, not willing to pay her any more compliments yet. "After all didn't Mr. Coulson day that you _are_ a reporter for the Sun-Times?"

Josie nodded her head in confirmation. "That's right. The Monday before I enrolled at South Glen South, my publisher decided that he wanted to do an undercover feature about High School kids today. Since I was the only one that looked young enough to be a High School student I was chosen to do it. I was thrilled. It was my big chance to prove to everyone that I could do it, that I could be a reporter. Problem was, I've never been popular. I went through High School being tormented by the 'popular' kids, which has left a few scars that I'm still trying to work through."

"What did they do to you?" Guy asked, the sadness in her voice causing sympathy to get the better of him. He knew from experience how cruel teenage kids could be towards those that they considered 'losers'. He wasn't a saint by any means himself, but he hoped he wasn't as bad as most of the crowd. In fact he'd had to squash a particularly mean trick that his friends were plotting against Aldys Wells at Prom. They'd been less than happy with him, especially when he'd confiscated the dog food can they'd been planing to dump on Aldys' head, but he couldn't let them humiliate her like that. As much as he agreed that Aldys was a geek and completely uncool, he couldn't play such a mean spirited trick on her. He even cringed when he realized how mean he'd just been to Josie when he'd called her a 'loser'. He had to be careful not to let his hurt get the better of him or else he may end up saying something that he'd later regret.

"Let's just say that your counterpart humiliated me worse that I have ever been humiliated in my life." Josie told him plainly. When Guy opened his mouth to inquire she cut him off. "I'm not going to go into any more details beyond that. It's just too painful of an experience to share."

"Fair enough." Guy acknowledged after a moment, tactfully backing off that line of questioning. "So, what's the status of your story?"

"I almost have it finished." She replied, gesturing to the open notebook and the laptop on the coffee table. "I'm basically comparing the two experiences, highlighting the similarities as well as the differences and how this second experience has helped me to put my first experience into perspective."

"Can I read the article?" Guy asked curiously.

Josie shook her head. "It's not finished yet and I have to get it approved by my editor before I know for sure if it'll be published."

There was a brief silence before Guy asked softly. "So, how serious are things with you and Mr. Coulson?"

Josie looked at him for a moment before answering. She knew that Guy had feelings for her and she felt really bad hurting him. In some ways she found the whole situation with her and Guy very ironic. Here she was, Josie Grossie, biggest nerd at Lake View High School telling the most popular boy in school that she wasn't interested in being anything more than just friends. At least I know how to turn him down without throwing eggs at him and humiliating him. She thought to herself. "Sam and I love each other very much." She told him truthfully. "And someday, if everything keeps going as it has been we hope to get married."

Guy looked at her in surprise. "Mr. C. proposed to you already?"

"Not officially." Josie assured him. "But it is something that we have talked about and I would have to say that it is definitely in our future."

"I see." Guy felt his heart fall slightly at her words.

Josie watched the various expressions pass over his face before finally saying, her voice warm and gentle. "Guy, I want you to know that I think you're a really terrific guy. And I hope that now we've gotten past the 'loser'/'popular' barrier we've actually become friends."

Guy looked at her sadly for a moment before admitting. "I thought we were becoming more than just friends."

Josie flushed slightly and gave him a slight smile. "Where were you eight years ago?"

"Eight years ago I was in the fourth grade." He commented, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

Josie laughed. "Oh, yeah. Guess that wouldn't have worked." Then with a more serious _expression she told him sincerely. "If I was really seventeen and everything had happened as it had happened between us than I can almost guarantee that I would have been crazy about you."

"You think so?" He looked at her hopefully.

Josie smiled and nodded. "I really do."

He gave her a sly look and asked, his eyes twinkling slightly. "So what if I was to tell you that I'm really twenty-seven and that I'm an undercover reporter for the Chicago Tribune?"

Josie gaped at him momentarily, trying to decide if he was serious or just pulling her leg. In some ways it would make sense. After all, she'd always wondered how someone from the Trib had managed to do an article on Gibby, Kirstin and Kristen right under her nose. She looked at him for several moments before deciding to call his bluff. "Then maybe Sam'll get a real surprise when he gets home."

"Really?" Guy looked at her in surprise. "You'd really dump Mr. C. for me if I was twenty-seven?"

"Are you twenty-seven?" She asked, keeping her tone neutral.

Guy hesitated for a minute before admitting. "No, I'm not."

Josie gave him a mysterious smile and said. "Then I guess we'll never know, will we?"

Guy gave her a pained look until he realized that she was just trying to tease him. Shaking his head slightly he said. "You are definitely crazy, Josie Geller."

"Thank you." She acknowledged with a bright smile. Then after a moment's pause she asked, a trifle nervously. "So are we okay?"

Guy waited for a moment before giving her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, we're okay. I'll admit I was hurt and angry when I realized what was going on, but as much as I'd like to I can't seem to stay mad at you."

"I'm really sorry for hurting you, Guy." She apologized again. "I never meant to. I never meant to hurt anyone. Like I said, this whole situation just kind of spun totally out of my control and I ended up stuck between how I wanted to handle things and how my editor wanted me to handle things." She looked at him sadly. "I just wish things could have turned out differently."

"Me too." He admitted with obvious feeling. "But I hope we can still be friends."

"I'd like that." Josie assured him.

"And one more thing." Guy commented, a mischievous smile appearing on his face.

"What's that?" She asked him curiously.

"If things don't work out with you and Mr. Coulson." He began, his eyes dancing slightly. "Promise you'll give me a call?"

"Hello honey, I'm home!" Sam called out as he entered his apartment a little after five-thirty that evening.

Josie appeared out of the kitchen, a dishtowel flung casually over her shoulder and a white apron tied around her waist. "Hi Sweetheart." She greeted warmly as she leaned up to give him a kiss. "How was your day?"

"Very, very long." He told her with a sigh. "Much longer than usual."

"Why's that?" She asked with a concerned frown.

"Because I missed you." He told her truthfully, producing a bouquet of roses from behind his back.

"Oh, Sam!" Tears welled up in her eyes as she accepted the fragrant spikes and buried her nose in them. "They're beautiful." Looking up at him she whispered tenderly. "I love you."

"I love you too." Sam returned, leaning down to kiss her again.

When they pulled back Josie commented. "I'd better put these in some water." As she moved to the kitchen Sam dropped his briefcase on the couch and sniffed the air appreciatively. "Something smells wonderful."

"Lasagna and garlic bread." She called from the kitchen. "I hope you're hungry."

"I'm starving." He commented as his stomach started to growl in expectation. "How was your day?" He asked her as she appeared out of the other room with the vase of flowers in her hand.

"Great." She replied as she arranged the vase on the already set dinning room table between two unlit candles. As she picked up a book of matches to light the candles she continued. "I got a lot done on my story and I did a bit of straightening up and unpacking for you. Nikki came by a little while ago and helped me move some of the furniture around. I don't know if everything is where you want it, but we can always change it if you want." When she got the candles burning she turned back towards him and prompted. "Dinner's ready. Why don't you go wash up while I get it on the table?" Sam nodded as she disappeared into the kitchen. Too enchanted to move he stood rooted to the spot until she returned with a salad bowl in her hands. Glancing at him in amusement she remarked lightly. "Are you planning on standing there all night or are you going to come and eat?"

Sam shook himself from his dazed state and headed towards the bathroom. "I'll be right there." As Sam washed his hands he couldn't help but smile to himself. It had felt so unbelievably good to come home to Josie's warm smile and the smell of a home cooked meal. Never in all the years that he and Lara had been together had she even offered to cook him a meal, let alone gone ahead and surprised him with one. It was just one more thing about Josie to love.

"The place is looking great." He told her as they settled down to eat supper. "I noticed you got the bed put together."

Josie gave him an amused smile as she put some Caesar salad on her plate. "Well I figured you'd find it more comfortable then sleeping on just the boxspring and mattress."

"I appreciate that." He acknowledged. "Goodness knows how long it would have stayed like that if it had of been up to me."

Josie chuckled and remarked. "I would have done more unpacking, but I wasn't quite sure where you wanted some things put." She told him as she poured herself a glass of wine. "As it is you might want to reorganize your kitchen. I just put things where _I_ thought you might like them."

"I'm sure it'll be just fine the way it is." He assured her with a smile. "Anything would be better than trying to find things in boxes. Did the Phone Company come by?"

Josie nodded. "About four o'clock. They put a line in the bedroom and the living room. They asked if I wanted one put in the bathroom, but I didn't think that was overly necessary."

Sam laughed slightly. "Yeah, I'm not that big on talking on the phone while I'm showering or brushing my teeth."

Josie couldn't help laughing at the mental image that invoked. Then taking a sip of her wine she said seriously. "Guy came by after school."

Sam looked at her in surprise. "He did? Guy stopped by here?" When Josie nodded her head he asked. "How did he know where to come?"

"He followed me here from school." She told him.

"He followed you?" Sam repeated, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What's he doing? Stalking you?"

"He's not stalking me." Josie denied, a bit surprised at his clipped tone. "He saw us kissing outside Jack Harding's office and wanted to find out what was going on."

Sam groaned and rolled his eyes in disgust. "This is getting ridiculous! Why is it I can't kiss you without someone spying on us? I'm starting to feel like I'm living under a magnifying glass and I'm getting sick of it! First it's Aldys spying on us at Prom, then it's Gus giving you the third degree and now Guy. I'm getting sick and tired of having to explain myself to everyone. Can't people just keep their noses out of my business? Can't they just leave me alone? Whatever happened to my nice, simple life when everyone left me alone?"

Josie looked at Sam and felt her heart fall to her stomach. She'd been worried that the continuous attentions and comments of others would finally wear Sam's normally easy going nature thing, maybe even causing him to wonder if she was worth all the hassle and bother. Unwillingly tears formed in her eyes as guilt and worry rose into her heart. She knew that things had been going too good to last. She knew that there was no way Sam would continue to put up with the nonsense they'd been dealing with for long. And why should he? He was a handsome, wonderful, intelligent man, he didn't need to be saddle with a burden like her. She was so inferior to him in so many ways and she knew it. She also knew that Sam would never push her away or allow her to see that he was feeling trapped by their relationship. He was too much of a gentleman. No, it was up to her to save him the stress and misery of putting up with her and everything bad that would come of their relationship. Silently she pushed her chair back and rose to her feet, violently fighting the tears that were trying to fall. She paused for a minute to collect herself before turning and picking up her jacket, duffel bag, briefcase and laptop.

"What are you doing?" Sam suddenly asked in alarm, getting to his feet and moving towards her. "Where are you going?"

Taking a deep breath Josie looked at him, sadness etched into every feature of her face. Taking a deep breath she said. "I never meant to cause you so much trouble, Sam." She chuckled sarcastically and wiped at her eyes as she continued ironically. "Which may be hard to believe since that seems to be all I've done since we met. You are a sweet and wonderful man and you deserve someone far better than me. Someone who'll make you happy and won't cause you the amount of stress and heartache that I've obviously caused you these last few months."

"Josie, what are you talking about?" He demanded, fear written all over his face. "I don't want anyone else, I want you. You are the only one that can make me happy."

Josie shook her head." No I don't. I'm nothing but a pain. Ever since we've met I've done nothing but cause you grief and heartache. Face it, Sam, you'd be far better off without me."

Sam, panic filling him, stepped towards her and grabbed her arms. Looking into her tear-filled eyes he exclaimed seriously. "The only way you could cause me pain and grief is if you walk out that door right now. I'm sorry if I got frustrated with Guy and everyone else sticking his nose into our business, but its only because I want our private life to be just that - private. I want to be able to kiss you and not have to worry about who might see us. I want us to be able to enjoy being in love without everyone feeling that they have a right to question us on everything we do."

"Sam, I'm not…I don't deserve you." She stammered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "All I do is cause you pain."

"Josie, you haven't caused me any pain." He told her seriously. "In fact the only thing that you've caused me in unbelievable happiness." Reaching up to caress her cheek he added, his eyes looking deeply into hers. "Josie, don't you understand yet how much you mean to me? You're my whole world. I would be completely lost without you." He paused for a moment as he searched her eyes for any form of acknowledgement to what he was saying. He saw flickers of hope amidst the insecurities and the doubts. Stroking her cheek tenderly he continued softly. "I know you were hurt very deeply by what happened with that guy in High School and that its made you scared and insecure and that's understandable. What he did to you was horrible and completely inexcusable, but Josie I'm not him. I'm not going to do anything to hurt you, at least not intentionally. But honey, I'm not perfect. Sometimes I'm going to say something accidentally that offends your or hurts you but that doesn't mean that I don't love you or treasure you. It just means that I'm not perfect. A relationship, _any_ relationship is full of ups and downs. Things aren't always going to be easy, but I love you and I'm willing to ride out the tough times just to be able to be with you."

Josie searched his face carefully for a moment before asking uncertainly. "Are you sure?"

Sam gave her a warm smile and told her firmly. "I have never been so sure of anything in my life." Then pulling her to him he added. "You mean everything to me, Josie. Without you I would be lost." He continued to hold her tightly as she sobbed stormily against his chest. "What is it, honey? What's got you so upset? This isn't just about me being upset about Guy sticking his nose into our personal life, is it?"

There was a long pause before Josie finally spoke. "Why are you so wonderful to me?" She asked between heart-wrenching sobs. "Nobody outside of my family has ever treated me like this before. I've never felt so loved or appreciated by anyone in my life."

Sam frowned in confusion as he asked. "And that's why you're upset? Forgive me if I'm a little dense, but I don't understand why that's such a terrible thing."

"That's just it." She commented against his chest. "It's not a terrible thing. It's a wonderful thing." Pulling back slightly so she could look at him she admitted. "And that's what makes me so scared. I'm scared that you'll decide you don't love me anymore and leave. I'm scared that you'll one day decide that I am Josie Grossie and walk away leaving me alone and broken-hearted. And I'm especially scared because I know that if that happens I won't be strong enough to get through it. I was crushed when he threw eggs at me and humiliated me like that, but I didn't love him. It was just a silly schoolgirl crush. But with you it's different. I have never loved _anyone_ as much as I love you, and that scares me too because that gives you even more power to hurt me than he or anyone else ever had."

Sam looked into her worried eyes and told her sincerely. "I'm scared too." At her surprised look he continued. "I'm scared that I will do something completely stupid like I did tonight and mess up what we have together. I'm scared because I've only had one other relationship before this and it ended up not working. And what scares me the most is that you'll find someone else and then where will I be?"

Seeing the true anxiety in his green eyes Josie set her bags down on the floor and threw her arms around his neck. Hugging him tightly she said softly. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm yours forever, if you want me."

Pulling her as close to him as he could he said, his tone full of emotion. "Forever isn't long enough." They stood like that for several minutes, relishing the sense of love and security that they both felt wrapped in each other's arms. Then, as if by mutual consent they pulled slightly apart. Reaching up to brush a stray curl off her forehead Sam asked gently. "How would you like to sit down and enjoy a delicious candlelight supper? I understand the chef here ins very talent, not to mention incredibly beautiful."

Josie giggled slightly and nodded her head. "I'd love to." Giving her a warm smile Sam lead her back to the table.

"Honey, I was just thinking about something." Sam commented to Josie a little while later. The two of them were busy unpacking a few of the boxes that littered his living room floor.

"What's that?" Josie asked without looking up from the book she was skimming. Once again Sam had put her in charge of his library, giving her free reign to organize it as she wished. This time Josie was taking full advantage of the assignment, stopping occasionally to peruse the books she hadn't read before. There weren't many since the two of them appeared to have much of the same taste in books, but there was the odd volume that she'd never read before.

"I know you're no longer a 'student' at South Glen South." He remarked seriously. "But what would you think about coming in one day this week and reading your story to the class? I figured it would be a good way to tell them all the truth about yourself before the article comes out in print next week. That is if Guy hasn't spilled the beans already."

"Guy promised not to say anything." Josie assured him. "He said that he'd let me tell them when I thought they should know."

Sam looked at her in surprise. "I thought for sure he'd have the news spread all over campus by now. This must be the hottest gossip of the year!"

Josie frowned at him slightly. "Guy's not like that. He's not a gossiper."

"I hope not." Sam remarked, clearly unconvinced. "So what do you think about reading your story to everyone?"

Josie considered his suggestion for a minute before nodding. "It think it sounds like a good idea. It'll be a good way to tell everyone the truth."

"When do you think you'll be ready to give it?" He pressed eagerly.

"I have it about half finished now." She reported. "I'm hoping to have it completed tomorrow. I'll then have to pass it by Gus. Why don't we make it Friday."

"It's a date." Sam grinned excitedly.

"And so the most important thing that I learned my Senior year at South Glen South is that I should _never _under any circumstances _ever_ wear Crimson Red lipstick with a Salmon colored shirt."

"Um, thank you very much Kristen for that well, uh, though out essay." Sam acknowledged with a forced smile. Trying not to appear too obvious he glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed quietly to himself. He still had five essays and thirty-five minutes of class left and he was sure he was going to go nuts before it came he was sure of it. Josie was suppose to have been there by now. As Kristen read her report all Sam could think about was where Josie was. It wasn't like her to be late and not let him know. As he listened to Kristen with one ear a list of possible scenarios kept going through his head - none of them very pleasant thoughts.

"Um, who's next?" He asked somewhat distractedly. He was glad that he'd assigned the order at the beginning of class so now he didn't have to worry about that but could instead concentrate on worrying about Josie.

"I'm next." Guy Perkins told him as he rose to his feet.

Sam gave him a nod of acknowledgement but before he could begin there was a gentle knock at the classroom door. "Just hang on a minute." Sam interrupted the teenager and did his very best not to fly to the door. Pulling it open he found no one. Frowning slightly he poked his head out in the hall where he found Josie standing out of sight of the classroom. Looking back to the class he said. "I'll be right back. Please try not to destroy the place in the next five minutes." Closing the door behind him he stepped towards Josie and without a word wrapped his arms around her. "I was getting worried." He whispered into her hair. "I was thinking all kinds of bad things had happened to you."

"I'm not that late." She commented, greatly surprised at his obvious anxiety over her tardiness.

"I know." He acknowledged with mild embarrassment. "It's just not like you to be late without letting me know. I guess I was just letting my imagination run away with me."

Giving him a serious look she told him, her tone completely empty of emotion. "I had a meeting with Gus and Rigfort today."

"About?" He prompted, searching her face for any clues as to the reason for the meeting.

"Two things: my story and the future of my job as a reporter." She told him, her expression still neutral.

He waited for her to continue but when she didn't he pressed eagerly, curiosity eating at him. "What did they have to say?"

"Well, apparently they've decided that it would be best if I wasn't given any more undercover pieces to do. They don't seem to think I have what it takes to be an undercover reporter." She told him matter-of-factly, still no hint of expression on her face.

"Oh, honey I'm so sorry." He told her sincerely, giving her a consoling hug. "I know how much you wanted this."

"That's not all they said." She commented against his chest. When Sam pulled back and looked at her expectantly she added. "Even though they don't think I have what it takes to be a reporter, they do agree that I have the talent to be a writer."

"So?" Sam pressed as he saw the excited sparkle that appeared in her eye.

"So, you are looking at the Chicago Sun-Times newest columnist!" She told him proudly. "And look at this." Reaching into her briefcase she pulled out the latest issue of the Sun-Times. Flipping it open to the middle section she handed it to Sam and pointed to the article in question.

"_**Life and Times of Chicago.**_ A Monthly Column by Josie Geller. 'Finding Myself in High School'." Looking at Josie excitedly he exclaimed. "Honey, this is wonderful!" Enveloping her in another hug he said sincerely. "I am so proud of you! I knew you could do it!"

"I never could have done it without you." She told him sincerely.

After a couple moments he pulled back and urged. "Come on, lets go in and tell your 'classmates' the good news. I bet they'll be surprised."

"I'm sure they'll be more than surprised." Josie commented with a wry smile. Sam gave her hand a tender squeeze before releasing it and opening the door to his classroom. Josie followed him into the room and made her way to her usual seat beside Aldys.

"Hey." Aldys greeted warmly as the other girl sat down. "We've missed you."

Josie gave her a warm smile. "I've missed you too." Suddenly she was surrounded by more of her friends and 'classmates', all of whom were welcoming her back with excited words and big smiles.

Sam watched delightedly as Josie's face started to glow under the attentions of her friends. He knew how much it meant to her to be accepted by others, especially by her high school peers and he was so happy to see them flocking around her as they were. After a few minutes he raised his hands and said seriously. "Okay everyone settle down." When the din didn't diminish much he added. "I'm still your teacher for a few more days so when I say settle down I expect you to listen." There were muttered protests but everyone finally did as he asked. Looking at Guy he prompted. "Mr. Perkins, I believe you were about to tell us how your Senior year at South Glen South affected you."

Guy rose to his feet, clearing his throat slightly as he stood. "I would have to say that the most important thing that I learned during my Senior year here at South Glen South is that you can't always go by first impressions. People aren't always what they first seem to be." He noticed Josie squirm slightly in her seat out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't look directly at her. Instead he focused his attention on his loyal followers as if trying to get his message across to them. "A lot of times we let prejudice or preconceived ideas influence our treatment of a person before we really get to know them." It was then that he turned his attention to Josie, who he noticed was now blushing hotly from his words. "When Josie first came here most of us immediately branded her a loser just because she was nervous and a bit shy and awkward. But we were wrong. Josie is anything but a loser. She is one of the smartest, craziest - _coolest _girls that I have ever met. And she's the one that taught me the importance of looking beyond those preconceived ideas and first impressions and get to know the real person. Because sometimes you may be surprised by what you may find." Giving Josie a genuinely warm smile he told her sincerely. "You have literally rocked my world, Josie and I thank you whole-heartedly for that."

As Guy sat down the whole room broke into thunderous applause. Josie, moved beyond words, rose to her feet and walked over to Guy. He rose to his feet at her approach and willingly accepted the warm hug that she gave him. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear, her tone choked with emotion. "You have no idea how much that meant to me."

Guy smiled and whispered back. "I just wanted to show you that not all of us 'popular' guys are total jerks."

Josie chuckled at that and pulled back to look into her eyes. Then leaning over she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "You're anything but." She assured him before turning and reclaiming her seat. Once settled her eyes immediately sought Sam's, who was smiling warmly at her. He knew just how much Guy's honest expressions had meant to her and to him too. He would always be grateful to the younger man for helping to boost her self-esteem in a way that he wasn't able to.

Focusing back on the rest of the class he announced. "We have a few more people to hear from before class is over and then at the end Josie has something she'd like to say to the class."

Twenty minutes and four essays later Sam finally turned to Josie and prompted warmly. "Josie, why don't you tell us how your time at South Glen South has affected your outlook on life."

Josie gave Sam a mildly amused look, noting how he'd changed the way he'd worded the question. Reaching into her briefcase Josie pulled out the clipping she'd made of her article. Then she rose and went to stand at the front of the class, beside where Sam was sitting on the edge of his desk. Glancing at him nervously for a moment she felt her confidence bolster with his reassuring smile. Turning back to the class she cleared her throat and read her article out loud:

_**"Finding Myself in High School"**_

_**by Josie Geller**_

_**Sun-Times Staff Writer**_

_Someone once told me that to write well, you have to write what you know. This is what I know:_

_I am twenty-five years old and until last week I had never really kissed a guy. A geek to the core most of my childhood years were spent doing extra homework I requested from the teacher. High School was more of the same. Then at seventeen it seems as if my luck was about to change. The cutest guy asked me to the Senior Prom, but it turned out to be a cruel joke and I have never fully recovered._

_Yes, it is embarrassing to share this with the world, but it would be hard to explain what I learned and how I learned it without sharing this humiliating history. _

_I received an assignment, my first as a reporter to go back to High School and find out about kids today. What I ended up finding was myself and that High School hasn't changed. There's still that one teacher who marches to her own drummer; those girls are still there. The ones that even as you grow up, will remain the most beautiful girls that you've ever seen close up. The smart kids. Who everyone else knew as 'the brains', but I just knew them as my soul mates, my teachers, my friends. And there's still that one guy with his mysterious confidence, who seems so perfect in every way. The guy you get up and go to school for in the morning. South Glen would not have been the same without him, High School would not be the same without him, __**I**__ would not have been the same without him._

_I lived a lifetime of regret after my first High School experience, but now after my second all my regrets have disappeared. In fact I have found that everything that I hated about High School before are now things that don't matter any more. And for that I have three very important people to thank: a fellow student who befriended me without question on my first day and unknowingly kept me from running away from my own fears. The coolest guy in the class who gave me the chance to see the other side of the popularity fence and made all my hopes and dreams of being accepted possible. And finally, I want to especially thank a certain teacher who directed me in my path of self-discovery. Who encouraged me more than anyone has ever encouraged me in my life and who made me believe in myself just like he believed in me. To this man in particular, you know who you are, I just want to say: I love you._

_Yes I, Josie Geller, have finally managed to battle the demons that haunted me since High School and have been able to put them in their proper place - behind me. And I am finally ready to move on with confidence and my head held high with my wonderful new friends and most importantly my beloved teacher at my side._"

The conclusion of Josie's story was met with stunned silence and blank expressions, much to Sam and Josie's expectation. The pair exchanged knowing smiles before looking back at the class, where they caught the amused eye of both Guy and Aldys. Finally after several moments Gibby's hand went up.

"Yes, Gibby." Sam acknowledged, his eyes dancing with expectation.

"I thought this assignment was suppose to be based on our own personal experience." Gibby commented seriously. "About how our Senior year here at South Glen South has affected our lives."

"That's right." Sam nodded in confirmation.

"Then why did Josie get to read a newspaper clipping about somebody else's High School experience?" The young girl complained in a whinny tone.

"I didn't read someone else's work." Josie denied, stepping towards the other girl and handing her the clipping she was reading from. "See, it's say 'by Josie Geller. Sun-Times Staff Writer."

Gibby looked up from the clipping and gave the blond girl a completely perplexed look. "I don't understand. What are you trying to say?"

"Oh, for pete's sake!" Guy exclaimed, visibly disgusted at her obvious denseness. "What she's trying to say is that she's no a seventeen-year-old student but a twenty-five year old reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times."

"Shut up!" Kirstin exclaimed in complete disbelief as Josie returned to where Sam was standing at the front of the class. "There's no way!"

"I'm happy to say that he's right." Sam confirmed Guy's words with a bright smile on his face. Then looking at Josie proudly for a moment he added. "I am also proud to announce that Josie is now the Chicago Sun-Times newest and most talented monthly columnist!"

"Josie, that's wonderful!" The three popular girls exclaimed in stereo.

Aldys, unable to contain her happiness for her friend leapt out of her seat and threw her arms around the other girl. "Josie that is terrific!" Pulling back she gave her a broad smile. "I knew you could do it!"

Suddenly something occurred to Kirsten. "Did you say the Chicago Sun-Times?"

"That's right." Josie nodded in confirmation.

Kirsten's eyes widened slightly as she glanced from Josie to Sam and back again. "You're _that_ Josie?"

Josie smiled up at Sam as he came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, giving them a loving squeeze. Looking back to the class she nodded to Kirsten and replied joyfully. "I'm that Josie." Murmurs of surprise went around the room at Josie's announcement.

"You are _so_ lucky!" Kristen told her sincerely, feeling somewhat envious of the other girl.

Looking back to Sam Josie echoed the other girl's sentiment. "I most certainly am."


	8. Chapter 8

Josie stood before her mirror and smoothed the skirt of the new blue sundress that Aldys, Gibby Kirstin and Kristen helped her pick out that afternoon. After class she and the four teens had gone shopping as they had planned at the ballgame on Monday night. When she'd told them that tonight she and Sam were going out on their first official date to celebrate her article and her new job at the paper they were more than happy to help her shop for the occasion. Now that she didn't have to pretend to be one of their peers, Josie actually found she didn't mind Gibby, Kirstin and Kristen as much as she had before. With the pressure of having to impress them and find a story gone she found herself more able to relax and even enjoy their adolescent behavior. The fact that she was so excited and happy about the way her life was going also helped contribute to her happy mood. In some ways she still found it hard to believe that she - Josie Grossie - was actually the girlfriend of a very handsome and wonderful man _and_ the newest and youngest columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. At that very moment she felt like she was on top of the world. There was no way that her life could get any better.

"It could only get worse." She whispered anxiously to her reflection. But then she immediately pushed such thoughts from her mind. "I've got to stop being such a pessimist or else Sam is going to break up with me for being so negative." She smiled wryly at herself. "There I go again!" A knock at her door signaled Sam's arrival. "It's open." Josie called from the bedroom as she gave herself another quick once over before heading for the living room and her waiting boyfriend.

"Hi." He greeted as she appeared out of her room. After dropping a kiss on her lips he said. "You look wonderful. These are for you." He presented her with a beautiful bouquet of pink lilies and baby's breath.

"Oh, Sam!" She accepted the flowers and smiled. "They're wonderful. But you don't have to keep bring me flowers every time, you know. It must be costing you a fortune."

"Don't you be worrying about that." Sam told her seriously. "Besides, its our first real date and I want everything to be just perfect."

Josie gave him a tender and said. "As long as I'm with you, it will be." Sam smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her again. Josie looped her free arm around his neck, deepening the kiss. Neither one seemed anxious for it to end, so its unknown as to how long it would have lasted had the phone not started ringing. Josie groaned in obvious annoyance as Sam broke off the kiss. "I'm going to kill that little brother of mine." She gripped angrily.

"What do you mean?" Sam gave her a surprised look.

"Oh, that baseball nut has been calling me all day long about practice tomorrow." Josie told him as she moved towards the kitchen and her phone, which was still ringing. "He's been driving me crazy! I'm ready to throttle him!" She reached to answer it but then stopped. "You know what, you answer it. If I talk to him one more time I'll probably have him kicked off the team before we even get things going."

"And we certainly wouldn't want that." Sam commented as he reached for the phone. "Rob may be obsessive, but he is a pretty darn good ball player." Putting the receiver to his ear he greeted pleasantly. "Hello?"

"Sam?" A surprised sounding female voice replied.

"Hi, Anita." Sam responded warmly. "How's it going?"

"Fine." Anita acknowledged, then hesitantly asked. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"No." Sam assured her. "Josie thought it was Rob calling her about practice again. I guess he's been bugging her all day about it."

Anita chuckled slightly. "He'd better mind his P's and Q's tomorrow. Gus won't put up with Rob's obsessiveness as well as we do."

Sam glanced at Josie who was busy putting her lilies in a vase. "I don't know how much longer some of us will be able to tolerate him either."

Anita chuckled again. "Josie's getting that annoyed, is she? Well, here are some words of warning, Sam. When Josie finally loses it with him get far, _far_ out of the way. Josie can be very formidable when she's mad."

"I'll remember that." Sam acknowledged, his eyes still fixed on the subject of their discussion.

"So how did her story go over in class today?" She asked expectantly. She'd been dying of curiosity about the subject ever since Josie'd left the office that afternoon. "They didn't eat her alive, did they?"

"No, actually quite the contrary." He assured her. "Actually, it took some of them a while to actually catch on to what Josie meant by her article. Gibby accused her of stealing someone else's work. It wasn't until Guy piped up and told her that Josie _was _the newspaper reporter and that she was twenty-five than Gibby and her friends actually got it."

Anita sighed dramatically. "Well, nobody ever said that all teenage girls were swift."

"No, they most certainly did not." Sam agreed with a chuckle. "That's probably why I was so attracted to Josie. She was so much smarter than the average teenage girl."

"Are you saying you just love me for my brains?" Josie asked as she set the vase of flowers on the counter in front of Sam.

"Not just for you brains." He assured her and gave her a mischievous wink.

On the other end of the phone line Anita chuckled. "I should probably let you go as I'm sure you're both eager to start your first official date."

"You're right." Sam agreed. Then with a wicked wink at Josie he added in a hurried tone. "Been nice talking to you, Anita. Bye!"

Anita laughed again, having already caught on to Sam's sense of humor. "No so fast Coulson!" She countered. "I need to talk to your girlfriend first before you hang up."

"Just a second, I'll see if she wants to talk to you." Sam replied and looking at Josie he asked, without even moving the receiver from its place. "Honey, you don't want to talk to Anita, do you?" Then in a stage whisper he pretended to plead. "Say 'no'. Just say 'no'."

Josie laughed at his mock pleading expression and grabbed the receiver from his hand. "Give me that, you fool." Putting the receiver to her ear she greeted her friend warmly. "Hi Anita, what's new?"

"Well, your boyfriend is a little bit weird." Anita laughed with evident amusement.

"Yeah, I know." She agreed. Then shooting Sam a sly look she added. "But that's not new." The two women laughed as Sam smiled good-naturedly, figuring that he was the butt of their joke.

"Look Jos, I won't keep you. I realize that you two are on your way out." She paused for a moment and then added wickedly. "At least I assume you're on your way out."

"Anita!" Josie exclaimed, blushing hotly under Sam's curious gaze. Turning her back on him she tried to compose herself by asking. "What is it you wanted to tell me?"

"Two things." Anita replied, her face nearly splitting with the amused smile it wore. "First, you got a reply to your ad about the helmet."

"Really?" Josie exclaimed eagerly. "I never expected to hear anything so quickly. Do you know who it was?"

"Yeah, Merkin gave me the message to pass on to you." Her friend told her. "Do you want the guy's name and number now?"

Josie hesitated for a moment, glancing briefly over her shoulder at Sam. "May be I'll wait and get it from you later."

"Don't want Sam to know about it just yet, eh?" Anita commented with understanding.

"Exactly." Josie confirmed with a smile. "So what was the other thing you had to tell me?"

"Oh, just that I overheard Gus and Rigfort talking this afternoon. Apparently they have received a lot more response to your article than they expected." Anita told her eagerly. "I guess they got hundreds of phone calls and emails from people eager to hear more from you."

"Really?" Josie exclaimed in amazement. "Are you sure they were talking about me?"

"Positive!" Her best friend assured her. "And that's not all! They've decided that instead of having you do a monthly column, they're going to try a weekly one! And you never know, maybe if there's enough demand you'll get to do a daily one!" When so response came from her young friend Anita prompted. "Josie? Are you still there?"

After a pause Josie finally acknowledged her friend. "I'm here." She confirmed. "I'm just speechless! I can't believe this is happening to me! Anita, I'm a writer! I'm finally a writer!" Shaking with excitement she launched herself into Sam's arms and cried happily on his shoulder.

"Oh Sam, this place is beautiful!" Josie exclaimed as she scanned the restaurant delightedly. "How did you ever find it? It's got to be the most out of the way hole-in-the-wall place I've ever seen."

"That may be." Sam acknowledged with a smile. "But it serves the best Italian food in Chicago. And its always jammed packed, even during the week. It's almost impossible to get a reservation here." Stepping up to the Maitre 'D he said. "Reservation for Coulson."

"Table for two?" The girl inquired checking her schedule.

"That's right." Sam nodded.

She gave him a mischievous smile and said. "Please excuse me for a minute while I check on your table."

As the girl moved off Josie looked at Sam and commented. "So, you didn't answer my question."

"What question was that?" He asked curiously.

"How did you ever find this place?" She repeated, looking around them again.

"The owners are immigrants from Italy." Sam explained. "Maria speaks and reads English fairly fluently, but Luigi spoke very little at all and couldn't read any. A couple of winters ago Maria convinced Luigi to take some English lessons to help him improve his language skills. The restaurant was growing quickly and Maria needed more help from him to handle the growth. So they advertised for a tutor. I saw the ad and since I had most of my evenings free with Lara in New York and having already given up hockey I decided to take the job." He chuckled slightly. "Actually, it wasn't really a job, it was more like visiting with friends two nights a week. Maria and Luigi basically adopted me as one of their sons, stuffing me full of pasta and stories from the old country while I helped Luigi learn his verbs and nouns." Josie smiled at his story, but before she could comment a roundish Italian matron came bustling out of the kitchen and into the foyer, a broad smile on her face.

"Sam!" She exclaimed, opening her arms wide and pulling him into a warm embrace.

"Hi Maria." Sam greeted, returning her exuberant hug easily. "It's good to see you."

"Its good to be seen." She replied, giving him a brilliant smile. Then chiding him slightly she added. "It's been far too long since you've been here. Luigi and I have missed you very much."

"I've missed you both too." Sam assured her. "I'm sorry about not coming in sooner, but my life has been a bit crazy lately."

Maria frowned, concern written all over her face. "Good crazy or bad crazy? That Lara is not making your life miserable again, is she? I tell you that woman is…" She broke into a barrage of Italian words that caused Sam's eyebrows to rise sharply. Then putting a hand on either side of his face she continued in English. "You need someone special, Sam. Someone sweet and nice and who will love you for you. You need to dump that awful woman, five years or no five years. She's not good for you, Sam."

Sam chuckled slightly and reached for Josie's hand, pulling her closer so he could introduce her to his friend. "Actually, Maria there's someone that I would like for you to meet. May I present my beautiful and incredibly sweet and nice girlfriend, Josie Geller. Josie, this is Maria Attardo."

A broad smile spread across Maria's face. Pointing to Josie she repeated. "Girlfriend? She's your girlfriend?"

"Yes she is." Sam confirmed.

"You mean Lara's…" She made a sound in the back of her throat as she mimicked a knife slicing across her throat.

Sam chuckled and nodded. "Lara and I broke up a few weeks ago."

"Meraviglioso!" Maria exclaimed her hands extended in the air before she pulled Sam in for another hug. Pulling back she added. "That woman was a _strega_! She was not good for you! She only cared about herself. You need someone who cares about you."

Sam slipped his arm around Josie's waist and said sincerely. "Well, I've found her."

Maria gave Josie a warm smile and took one of her hands in both of hers. She gave the young woman a scrutinizing look before pronouncing. "E bello." Josie flushed slightly. "And not just on the outside, non?"

"She most certainly is." Sam agreed, tightening his arm that was still around her waist and kissing the side of her head lovingly. Josie flushed even more.

"Come." Maria finally exclaimed after watching them for another few moments. "Let's get you a table. Follow me." She led them through the crowded restaurant to a quiet little corner booth for two.

"This is so beautiful." Josie exclaimed her eyes widening as she took in the flickering candles and the romantic ambiance that surrounded them. "Oh Sam, this is such a perfect spot for out first date."

Maria's ears perked up at Josie's words. "Your first date?" With an eager expression on her face she said. "You two sit, please and leave everything to me. Tonight, you dine on us!"

"No, Maria." Sam tried to stop the excited Italian woman. "We can't impose on your generosity."

"No imposition!" She told him honestly. "Tonight you are our guests. Tonight is a night for amore!" With that she was gone.

Sam couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle. He knew Maria would go all out if she found out it was his and Josie's first date. Looking up he found Josie chuckling too. "She's really something, isn't she?"

"I love her." Josie exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "She's fun and enthusiastic."

"Sweetheart, you haven't seen anything yet!" Sam told her with a laugh. "The moment you told her that it was our first date you gave her the green light to go absolutely all out, and believe me she will! Italians are some of the most romantic people alive."

"It's a good job that I didn't tell her that this was my first official date period." Josie remarked with a smile.

"No, it's a good thing you didn't." Sam agreed. "There's no telling how elaborate Maria would have gone if she knew that." His expression turned more serious as he reached across the table and took her hands in his. "Though I do want you to have a memorable first date." Kissing the back of her right hand he added. "I want it to be one of the most memorable evenings of your life."

Josie's eyes welled up with tears. "Every moment with you is memorable."

Sam gave her a tender smile. "I feel the same way." Before the couple could say anything more Maria returned with a bottle of wine in hand and an older Italian man in tow.

"Sam!" The man exclaimed eagerly as he approached them. Sam rose and gave the other man a hearty handshake and good-naturedly accepted the friendly kisses he placed on both his cheeks. "Why you not come and see us sooner? You not like us?"

Sam gave the other man a knowing smile and flung his arm around the shorter man's shoulders. "Nice try at the guilt trip, Luigi. Make me feel bad."

"Hey, you no come see me." Luigi commented. "You make _me_ feel bad!" Then with a mischievous look at Josie he added. "But, I see you have good reason for being too busy to visit." Gesturing to the young woman she exclaimed. "_E molto bella_!" Josie flushed once again at the praise. "_Astuto_ too, _non_?"

Sam looked proudly at Josie. "Yes, she's very smart."

"Luigi, let's let them enjoy their date." Maria admonished her husband as she poured two glasses of wine and set the bottle on the table. "This wine is from Luigi's personal stock. His brother sent it all the way from Italy."

"We can't take your family wine." Sam objected seriously.

"_Assurdita_!" The Italian couple exclaimed simultaneously.

"You're like family!" Maria told him, patting him affectionately on the cheek.

"You enjoy." Luigi urged them with twinkling eyes and a broad smile. "Wine is important for _romanzesco_!" With that the older couple left them to enjoy their wine and each other's company.

"You were right." Josie commented with a smile.

"About what?" Sam asked curiously.

"Italians really are the most romantic people alive!"

"How is it?" Sam asked as Josie slipped a bite of her dessert into her mouth.

"Heavenly." She moaned as the Semi-sweet, Bittersweet and White chocolate from her Triple Chocolate cheesecake melted in her mouth. Closing her eyes she sighed. "Nothing should be allowed to taste this good."

Sam laughed at the sheer ecstasy on her face. "Should I leave you two alone?" He teased lightly.

Josie blushed slightly and opened her eyes. "Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away. What were you saying before?"

Sam watched as she took another bite of her cheesecake before replying. "I was just saying that you're going to love Wisconsin. It's very beautiful this time of year. My parents have a nice little hobby farm in the country." Noting her smirk he asked curiously. "What's with the grin?"

"I just find it hard picturing you as a farm boy." She remarked with a chuckle. "You know with the overalls and straw hat feeding the chickens and milking the cows. You must have been so adorable."

"I was an adorable little boy." Sam told her cheekily. "But I'm sorry to disappoint you. I was never a farm boy."

"You weren't?" She was surprised at that. "How can you grow up on a farm and not be a farm boy?"

"Because I didn't grow up on a farm." Sam told her. "I'm a hometown boy. Born and raised here in Chicago."

"Really?" Josie had been sure he was from Wisconsin. "I wonder where I got the idea that you were from the country?" She mused aloud to herself.

"Does that mean you don't love me anymore because I'm not from the country?" Sam teased lightly.

Josie gave a mock dramatic sigh and said. "Well, it definitely might put a damper on our relationship." Then after taking a bit of her cheesecake she asked. "So, how did your folks end up there?"

"When I was a senior in High School Dad got a job offer in Wisconsin." He explained after taking a bite of his own dessert. "He and Mom decided that it would be a good move for them since there were getting tired of the rat race here in Chicago. So, Mom, Dad, Russ and Abby all moved to Wisconsin."

Josie snapped her fingers and exclaimed. "That's where I got the idea that you were from Wisconsin. When I was talking to Abby on my cell phone the other night she'd made a comment about shoveling snow in Wisconsin."

Sam nodded his head in confirmation. "Abby lived in Wisconsin for about two years before she and Bill got married and moved to California."

"But you didn't go? To Wisconsin I mean. You didn't move with the rest of your family?" When he shook his head she pressed. "Why not?"

"I was almost finished my Senior year of High School and I didn't really want to have to start all over again for four or five months." He explained. "Besides, I was planning to go to college in the fall anyway, so I would have left home then. It just didn't make much sense to move and than move again."

"So what did you do?" Josie asked curiously. "Where did you stay?"

"I stayed with Jonathan and his family until about August." Sam told her. "Than Jonathan, Joanna and I moved to Connecticut and got ready to attend Yale."

"All three of you went to Yale?" Josie looked at him in awe. At his nod of confirmation she exclaimed. "That's amazing! I always wished I could have gone to Yale but I never bothered to apply because I never figured I'd get in. I didn't think that I was smart enough."

"Josie, you are definitely smart enough." Sam quickly assured her. "You are one of the smartest people I know."

Josie gave him a mischievous grin. "You _have_ to say that because you're my teacher."

Sam's expression grew serious as he said. "No, I'm saying it because I believe it's true. You are one of the smartest people I know and I love you very, very much."

"I love you too, Sam." She assured him with a tender smile. With an excited sparkle in her eyes she added. "This last week has been the best one of my entire life. You have made me feel so loved, so cherished. Like I'm really someone special."

Sam leaned forward and reached across the table to touch her face. "You are special, Josie. You are the most special woman in my life and I love you more than anything else. And you know what, I wish you had of gone to Yale."

"Why's that?" She asked curiously.

"Because then maybe I would have met you instead of Lara and it would be you that I could have had a five year history with by now." He told her truthfully. "And I can guarantee that our history would have been so much different."

Josie gave him a mischievous smile and asked. "What do you think that we'd be doing right now if we'd met at Yale five years ago?"

"Well, I would think that we would probably both be doing the jobs that we're doing right now." He told her with a thoughtful expression on his face. "After all, I love to teach and you love to write." He looked thoughtful again for several moments before continuing. "I think that we would most definitely be living here in Chicago, since we both grew up here and love it here."

"So far good." Josie told him with a nod. "What else?"

After doing some mental calculations in his head Sam replied. "Well, if we'd have met your first year at Yale, which would have been the 1991-92 school year and say we'd started officially dating that winter."

Josie raised her eyebrows slightly. "That fast?"

"Well, when I see a good thing I don't waste much time staking my claim." He teased gently.

"Okay, so we started dating that winter." She repeated. "Then what?"

"I would say that by the end of the school year we would have been engaged." He told her seriously.

Josie laughed. "You definitely don't believe in wasting time."

"Well, you obviously feel the same way because you accepted my proposal." He commented mischievously.

"Point taken." She laughed again. "So when would we have gotten married?"

Sam looked thoughtful again for several moments. "That summer. Maybe August, just before school started. That would give us time for a honeymoon, but also time to get back in time to start the new school year."

"Now that's what I call a whirlwind courtship!" Josie exclaimed. "I guess you don't believe in long engagements then either."

"Not when I desperately want to marry the girl I'm engaged to." He told her honestly, reaching across the table to take her hand.

Josie flushed and gave him a bright smile. "I want to marry you too." She told him sincerely. "But I don't want things to happen too fast. I want both of us to be sure."

"I have never been more sure of anything in me life." Sam told her truthfully. "But I understand what you're saying. Just as long as you promise not to change you mind in the mean time."

Josie gave him a warm smile. "I promise. Nothing could make me change my mind. I love you."

Sam reached up and cupped her face with his hand again. Josie closed her eyes and pressed her cheek into the palm of his hand. "I can't wait to introduce you to my family. They are going to just adore you."

Josie looked at him a little skeptically. "You think so?"

"I know so." He assured her. "Do you think you'll be able to get the time off?"

"I should be able to." Josie nodded. "I've been at the Sun-Times for five years and I've only taken two weeks off."

"Oh, yeah?" Sam raised his eyes curiously. "What did you do?"

"Rob and I went to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to watch a Blue Jays baseball game at the Skydome."

"The Skydome?" Sam repeated in surprise. "Why did you guys go there?"

"I don't know." Josie shrugged slightly. "Rob got the notion into his head that he wanted to go and he begged me to go with him. It was fun actually. Toronto's a nice city. Cleaner than Chicago for sure."

"Did you do anything else besides go to a ball game?" He asked inquisitively.

"We did some sightseeing and some shopping. We went up to CN Tower and visited this really interesting castle that use to belong to the guy that originally owned the power company in Toronto. It was built in the early 1900's, and cost about two million dollars then."

"That sounds interesting." Sam gave her a deeply intrigued look. "What's the place called?"

"Castle Loma." She told him. "It was designed to have a swimming pool with golden statues surrounding it, a bowling alley, exercise room, a library that holds about 10,000 books and the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen."

Sam's eyes twinkled knowingly. "I bet you loved the library best."

Josie smiled and nodded. "Rob got mad at me because I was trying to read the titles of all the books I could see."

"What else did you do?" He asked eagerly, wishing to hear every detail of her trip.

"We went to Paramount Canada's Wonderland which is about an hour north of the city and rode the roller-coasters. They've got some pretty interesting roller coasters up there." She told him excitedly. "They've got one that you stand up on while your riding it. I think it's called the 'Skyrider' or something like that. They have one called 'The Fly' that's like a little cart that takes you around some really sharp corners and a couple fast dips. They take your picture when you go down the biggest dip. Rob and I both bought a copy as a souvenir. Rob's mouth is wide open from the shock of the drop. All you see in place of Rob's head is this big gapping hole." Sam smiled as she continued, her excitement building as she continued to describe the rides they'd been on. "Another coaster was called 'Top Gun'. This one your strapped into a chair-like seat that leaves your feet dangling the whole time - even when you're flipped upside down in a loop. But I would have to say my favorite was the "Bat". On the "Bat" you do the ride forward through all the loops and corkscrews, then you do it backwards. The corkscrew really throws you for a loop when you do it backwards."

Seeing the sparkle in her eyes and hearing the excitement in her voice Sam remarked. "I take it you like roller coasters."

Josie nodded enthusiastically. "I _love_ rides period! Another cool ride that we went on was called 'Drop Zone'. It's 230 feet high and they pull you up in a bench of seats that's four seats wide with complete back and side supports for each seat plus a harness you pull down over your shoulders and clip into place in front of you. Then when you reach the top they wait about ten seconds and then drop you. You're actually free falling for about oh, say three -quarters of the distance and then they slow you down and eventually stop softly on the ground. It was a real rush!" She chuckled slightly. "The first time that we went on it I noticed how beautiful the view was. You could see such a long distance away. Anyway, I was pointing something out to Rob, momentarily forgetting where we were when suddenly the ride dropped. My heart was in my throat before I realized what was going on! It was great though! We went back on it a couple more times that day." She noticed Sam shudder slightly and reached over to squeeze his hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, honey. I won't make you ride anything like that. I completely understand why you don't like rides."

"I'm not fond of them." Sam agreed honestly but then his eyes started to twinkle slightly as he added. "But I will say that the Ferris wheel is starting to hold a definite appeal." A sly smile appeared on his face as he said. "Especially if I can hold my favorite girl in my arms while I'm riding it."

Josie returned his mischievous smile with one of her own. "Well, that jut may be something that cam be arranged, Mr. Coulson."

Sam's eyes began to dance even more. "What do you say we take a stroll down there right now? The pier's only a couple blocks away." The mischief in his voice deepened as he eyed her empty dessert plate, which was now completely devoid of any traces of her sumptuous dessert. "That is unless you'd like another serving of that Triple Chocolate Cheesecake you love so much."

"No, its okay." She assured him with a slight blush. "I don't want to make a pig of myself."

Sam merely smiled as he rose to his feet, reaching a hand out to help her to hers. "Shall we?"

"Lets." Josie acknowledged with a broad smile as she let Sam lead her across the full restaurant.

Spying Maria peering through the kitchen door, Sam waved at her. Seeing him the Italian woman came bustling out, a warm smile on her face. "_I mili tesori_, you're not leaving?" She asked, her expression turning sorrowful.

"I'm afraid we are." Sam informed her, trying not to laugh at her expression. "But don't worry, we will be back."

"_Promessa_?" She prompted eagerly.

"Promessa." He assured her before leaning down and giving her a kiss on each cheek. As he did so he tried to slip some money into her apron pocket, but Maria was wise to him.

"_Non_! You save your money!" She took the bills out of her pocket and pressed them into his hand. "Tonight is on us. You spend your money on other things." She looked at Josie and reached over to touch her face gently. "On prettier things."

"But Maria…!" Sam started to object but she waved him off.

"_Non! Silenzio!_" Then with a mischievous wink she added. "You let us cater the wedding and we will be even."

Josie blushed at the remark, but not as hotly as she did a moment later when Sam whole-heartedly agreed. "It's a deal!"

"I always loved the Navy Pier at night." Josie commented as she and Sam strolled along the boardwalk that leads to the midway. "The lights are so beautiful."

Slipping an arm around her waist Sam whispered in her ear. "_I_ love the way the lights make your eyes sparkle. They look like they're dancing."

Josie blushed in the darkness and slipped her arm around his waist. "Who would have thought that night we rode the Ferris Wheel that we'd be back a few weeks later as a real couple."

Kissing the side of her head Sam confessed honestly. "That night on the Ferris Wheel I _wished_ we were a real couple."

"Really?" Josie looked at him in surprise.

"Why do you think I joined you so quickly, d_espite_ my fear of heights? " He confided seriously. "When I saw you sitting there all alone and heard the carnie call out for a partner for you I just reacted without thinking because I wanted nothing more than to be with you."

Josie couldn't believe her ears. "I thought you just did it out of pity, because I looked so pathetic sitting there all by myself."

Sam shook his head and admitted. "If wasn't pity. If anything it was jealousy."

"Jealousy?" Josie repeated in disbelief.

"I told you that you made me feel jealous." He reminded her.

"What could you possibly of been jealous of then?" She asked curiously. "Guy was treating me like a loser and Rob was barely on the scene. I don't think you'd even met him yet."

"That's true." He acknowledged. "But I wasn't jealous of them, or at least not just them." When she looked at him expectantly he explained. "I was jealous that some other guy would come and sit beside you and fall in love with you and take you away from me."

"Like that would ever happen." She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I wanted to do it." He told her honestly. "I wanted to run away with you right then and there. And if I'd have been more honest and forthcoming with my feelings maybe I would have suggested it."

"Where would we have gone?" She asked mischievously as she gave him an expectant look.

"Oh, I don't know." He commented thoughtfully. "Maybe some remote island in the Tropics where nobody would have known that you were my underage student and that I was your teacher."

"That's pretty sneaky and devious of you, Mr. Coulson." Josie teased, giving him an amused smile.

"Maybe, but truth be told I'm glad we didn't run off together. I am _so_ much happier with the way things are now." He told her truthfully. "I much rather having you a part of my life here in Chicago than have to sneak around and be deceptive in some other part of the world, Tropical paradise or not."

"Me too." She agreed with a laugh. "After all, I tend to burn very easily if I spend too much time in the hot sun." The pair chuckled in amusement as they reached the midway. They wandered around for several moments, just enjoying the busyness and excitement of their surroundings, not to mention just being together.

After a few minutes a couple familiar face appeared to Sam across the way. "Hey, isn't that Rob and Aldys up ahead?" He asked with a small smile.

"Where?" Josie asked, scanning the crowd for her younger brother and their friend.

"Over there by the ball toss." Sam pointed towards the booth he meant.

Josie finally spotted the pair and couldn't help but smile as she watched her brother throw a baseball at a bunch of bowling pins. "I'll bet he's practicing for tomorrow."

Sam chuckled slightly. "He's practicing for practice tomorrow?"

"Hey, I keep telling you he's obsessed!" She remarked as they headed for the pair. When they got within earshot Josie greeted them warmly. "Hey you two, what's up?"

Both Aldys and Rob turned and smiled at the approaching pair. "Rob's teaching me how to throw a ball properly." Aldys told her with a smile.

"And how much has he spent on this little training session?" Josie asked knowingly.

"None of your business, Josephine." Rob commented as he went back to his game.

"Twenty-five dollars." Aldys mouthed to her friend. Josie laughed and nodded. She'd figured as much.

"So what are you two doing here?" Rob asked curiously as he handed Aldys the large stuffed teddy bear that he'd won.

"We're on our first official date." Sam replied proudly as he hugged Josie to him.

"Congratulations." Aldys exclaimed with a delighted smile. "So where did you go?"

"Sam took me to this quaint little Italian restaurant a few blocks from here." Josie replied eagerly. "Then we decided to come here and ride the Ferris wheel."

"Oh, the Ferris wheel. The Ultimate Date Ride." Rob remarked with a mischievous wink at the pair. "How romantic."

Josie and Sam chuckled as Josie gave her younger brother's arm a swat. "So what have you two been up to?"

"Well, first we went to the Batting Cage." Aldys began to relate. "Then we did the Speed Throw, then Rob just spent twenty-five dollars winning me this beautiful big teddy bear at the Ball Toss." She gave Rob a warm smile and hugged the bear tighter to her.

Rob tossed an arm casually around Aldys' shoulders and remarked. "And this little lady here has got a good arm on her. You should sign her up for the Sun-Times team."

Josie gave Aldys an apologetic look when she noted the excited expression on the girl's face. "I'd love to, but I'm afraid you have to be twenty-one to sign up. I'm sorry."

Aldys just shrugged it off good-naturedly. "That's okay. I'll just appoint myself your cheering section."

"Great." The other girl told her eagerly. "You can help Anita cheer us on. She never joins the team, but she's always there to watch the games."

"I'd like that." Aldys assured her with a smile.

"Just make sure you come up with a really good victory cheer." Rob told her, tightening the arm he had around her shoulders. "We're going to need it a lot I'm figuring."

"And why's that?" Sam asked expectantly, knowing the answer but wanting to bait the young man.

Rob fell for the bait. "Cause we're gonna cream all those losers that come our way!"

"I still think I should call Gus and have him booted off the team." Josie said to Sam in a stage whisper. She then grinned innocently at Rob when he fitted her with a glare.

"So what were you guys up to now?" Sam asked, wisely changing the subject.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm thirsty." Aldys remarked.

"Me too." Rob agreed. "Those tacos we had have left me dying of thirst."

"Well, we wouldn't want you to die." Josie teased him lightly. "Why don't we head for the food building?" She looked at Sam for his opinion.

"Sound fine to me." He agreed readily. "I could go for something to drink too."

"Then I guess we're all in agreement." Aldys remarked and the two couples headed off in the direction of the food building.

"So, Aldys how's you application to Northwestern coming?" Sam asked curiously.

"Good." She replied eagerly. "I actually sent it off a couple days ago. Thanks again for the letter of reference."

"You're welcome." Sam and Josie said simultaneously causing them to look at each other in astonishment.

"You gave her a letter of reference too?" Sam asked in surprise.

Josie nodded. "She asked me for one." With a proud smile she commented. "I am a Northwestern graduate, after all."

"So you are." Sam grinned, tightening his arm around her. "And no doubt one of their finest."

"Flatter." Josie teased, giving him a slight smile.

Sam smiled back and leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips. Pulling back slightly he whispered. "Not to mention _my_ favorite graduate."

"Oh, will you two knock it off!" Rob exclaimed in mock annoyance. When the couple looked at him in amusement he added. "I really don't need to witness my sister's love life." Josie blushed slightly at his remark, but then for the second time that night her blush deepened at Sam's reply.

"Oh, you're just jealous, Rob."

"Jealous?" Rob repeated in surprise. "Of what?"

"You're jealous because you wish that you could find someone as wonderful as Josie to be your girlfriend." Sam's eyebrows rose slightly when he noticed the embarrassed flush on Aldys' cheeks, but before he could comment Rob suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey Jos, isn't that what's her name?"

"Who?" Josie asked, looking in the direction Rob was pointing. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"You know who I mean." He started snapping his fingers as he tried to remember the name of the girl he was referring to. "That girl you were tight with in High School. The chubby one with the curly hair and the glasses. You know whom I mean. You two were as thick as thieves back then. Sandy? Cherie? Shirley?"

"You mean Sheila Davis?" Josie asked in surprise, her eyes scanning the crowd again.

"Sheila! That's her name!" He acknowledged as the name finally fell into place.

"Where?" Josie demanded as she continued to scan the crowd.

"Over there by the 'Zipper'." Rob pointed to the ride about five feet away. "She's wearing the blue tank top and beige shorts."

"The one with the ponytail?" Sam asked as he too scanned the crowd.

"That's the one." Rob acknowledged. "I'll tell you one thing, she's certainly not that chubby High School geek anymore. In fact she's quite hot looking."

"Rob." Josie scolded softly, sending a pointed look at Aldys who was now looking sadly down at her feet.

Catching her sister's hint he tightened his arm around Aldys' shoulders again and said. "But she's not as hot as my girl here." Aldys flushed again and gave Rob a warm smile.

Sam laughed at the couple then turned her attention to Josie, who was still watching the young woman across the way. "So, are you going to go over and say 'hello'?"

"I don't know." Josie replied, her tone evidently nervous. "I'm not positive that it's her, and besides I haven't seen her in eight years. What if she doesn't remember me? Or worse, what if she doesn't want to remember me. I mean look at her she looks fabulous. I'm sure she doesn't want to be seen with me. I look heavy and ugly compared to her."

"You look nothing of the kind." Sam quickly assured her. "As far as I'm concerned, you have her beat hands down." When Josie still didn't look convinced he tried another tactic. "Come on, honey, you said yourself that you wished you hadn't lost contact with her. Maybe this is your chance to have that wish fulfilled. Go on. Just go up and say 'hi'. You'll be glad that you did."

"Listen to this man, Jos." Rob urged. "He knows you well enough already to know you'll kick yourself all over the place if you don't go up to her and talk to her." When she hesitated again Rob started chanting. "Josie! Josie! Josie!" Soon he had Sam and Aldys doing it too.

"Okay! Okay!" Josie finally exclaimed, her face red with embarrassment. "I'll do it if you guys will promise to shut up!"

"It's a deal." Rob assured her. Then with a not too gentle shove he urged. "Go!"

Josie turned her head and stuck her tongue out at Rob. When she turned back she was surprised to find her quarry standing a few feet away looking at her nervously. "Oh, hello." Josie greeted, her own tone trembling.

"Excuse me, but are you Josie Geller?" The young woman asked curiously.

"Yes." Josie acknowledged hesitantly. Then in an uncertain tone she added. "Sheila Davis?"

The young woman nodded her head eagerly and confirmed. "It's me, though it's Sheila Clarke now." She held up her left hand for Josie to see her wedding ring. The two women started silently at each other for several seconds before they both let out a piercing scream and threw themselves into each other's arms.

"I don't believe it!" Josie finally cried a few minutes later when she stepped back and took a good look at her friend. "I've always wondered what became of you after High School."

"Well, as you know I went to NYU that fall and I decided that I wanted to be a nurse." Sheila told her eagerly. "What about you? What are you doing?"

With an excited sparkle in her eyes Josie asked proudly. "Do you read the Sun-Times?"

Sheila gave her an inquisitive look as she shook her head. "No, Derek usually reads the Chronicle. Why?"

Josie's smile widened as she announced. "You are looking at the newest columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. My very first article came out today!"

"Oh, Josie that's wonderful!" Sheila exclaimed and hugged her friend again. "I'm so proud of you! I always knew you'd make it as a writer!"

"You did?" Her friend gave her a look of complete surprise.

"Of course I did." Sheila told her seriously. "Your writings in High School were always the best I'd ever heard. I knew you had the talent to be a writer of some sort. Looks like I was right."

"Yes you were." Josie nodded then hugging her old friend again she whispered softly. "Thank you."

Knowing that Josie tended to be somewhat insecure about some things Sheila returned her hug and said. "You're welcome." When they separated Sheila exclaimed eagerly. "Come on, I want you to meet Derek."

At the mention of the male name Josie remembered her own companions. "Just a moment." She turned and beckoned for the others to join them. "I have someone that I want you to meet too." As the others reached them she gestured to her brother and said. "I'm sure you remember Rob."

"I sure do." Sheila acknowledged. "Mr. Popularity himself. Just as good-looking as when we were in High School."

Rob gave her a broad smile and returned the compliment. "You're looking pretty good yourself, Sheila."

"That's what loosing fifty pounds and falling in love will do for you." She commented with a laugh as she spun and posed like a runway model.

Sam saw Josie tense slightly at her friend's movements and put his hands reassuringly on her shoulders. Josie smiled up at him and then continued the introductions. Gesturing to Aldys she said. "This is a good friend of mine, Aldys Wells."

"Aldys?" Sheila repeated with a small smile. "I like that. It's pretty."

"Thanks." Aldys smiled back. "My mom was going through her Harlequin Romance phase."

Sheila chuckled then turned her attention to Sam who was still standing with his hands on Josie's shoulders. "And who's this handsome young man of yours?"

Josie couldn't help the proud smile that lit up her face as she glanced up at Sam. Looking back to her friend she introduced the pair. "Sheila, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Sam Coulson. Sam, this is my best friend from High School, Sheila Davis - actually I guess its Sheila Clarke now."

"You're married?" Rob exclaimed in surprise.

"That's right." Sheila confirmed with a laugh as she showed him her rings.

"How long?" He prompted curiously.

"Seven years ago August 17th." Then grabbing Josie's hand she urged. "Come on, I want you to meet him." Josie laughed as she ran to keep up with her excited friend. Sam, Rob and Aldys all followed at a more leisurely pace, giving the two friends a few moments alone.

"Derek!" Sheila called out to a handsome young man who was anxiously scanning the nearby crowd.

Turning at the sound of his name, Derek flashed Sheila a relieved smile. "Where did you go? I was worried somebody had taken off with you."

Sheila chuckled at his concern and asked. "Where's Sarah?"

"Chad and Cindy took her and Melinda to the Carousel." Derek replied. Then slipping an arm around her waist he commented softly. "I thought maybe we'd steal ourselves away to the Ferris wheel for a romantic ride while they're gone."

"Sounds wonderful." His wife sighed as she leaned back against him. "When are we supposed to meet them?"

"In thirty minutes at the van." He told her as he kissed the side of her head lovingly. "So we don't have much time."

"Let's go then." Looking at Josie she asked. "You guys want to come to the Ferris wheel with us?"

Josie gave Sam a mischievous smile as she replied. "We'd love to." Then looking at Rob and Aldys she asked. "You guys coming too?"

Aldys shook her head sadly and said. "I have to get home. Dad told me to be home by eleven." Glancing at her watch she said. "It's already after ten and it's a good half hour drive home."

"You going to come and watch us practice tomorrow?" Josie asked curiously.

"I wouldn't miss it." She assured her friend. Then giving Josie a mischievous wink she added. "I'll even work on that victory cheer. Maybe Anita can give me some ideas."

Josie laughed knowingly. "You be careful of some of Anita's ideas. She might get you in trouble."

"I'll remember that." The younger girl acknowledged as she gave Josie a hug.

"See you tomorrow." Sam and Josie waved as the young pair moved on.

"They make a cute couple." Sheila remarked as she watched them go. "Have they been dating long?"

"No." Josie replied with a smile. "I'm not ever sure if they're really on a date or not. It kind of looked like it, but I never expected that Rob would actually date someone like Aldys."

"Why not?" Sheila asked in surprise. "What's wrong with Aldys? She seems like a very nice girl."

"She is." Josie quickly agreed. "And that's just it. You know how Rob was very popular in school where as I wasn't." When Sheila nodded she continued. "Well, Aldys is like me. She's the leader of a math group called the Denominators. She's a very nice and outgoing person and she's shunned by the popular crowd."

"Being accepted by the popular crowd isn't all it's cracked up to be." Sheila commented matter-of-factly. "Most of them are real jerks."

"Yeah, some of them are." Josie agreed, but then remembering what Guy had said earlier that day she added. "But some of them aren't so bad."

"Could be." Her friend commented with a shrug. "But all I know is that we had some real big losers in our High School and it wasn't the ones that the 'popular' kids labeled losers."

"I agree." Josie nodded. Then changing the subject she looked at Derek and asked curiously. "So how did you two meet?"

"I'm sorry." Sheila suddenly apologized with a slight flush. "Where are my manners? Josie, Sam I'd like you to meet my husband Dr. Derek Clarke. Derek this is my best friend from High School, Josie Geller and her boyfriend, Sam Coulson."

"It's nice to meet you both." Derek acknowledged, shaking both their hands warmly. Looking at Josie he remarked. "I remember Sheila talking about you a lot when we first met. Its nice to finally meet you."

"Its nice to meet you too." Josie returned. Then repeating her earlier question she asked. "So how did you two meet?"

Slipping an arm through Josie's Sheila encouraged. "Come with us to the Ferris wheel and I'll fill you in on everything."

"It's a deal." Josie accepted with a warm smile.

As the two couples winded their way through the crowd Sheila filled her friend in on the last eight years of her life while the two men chatted easily among themselves. She and Derek had met her first week at NYU. He was pre-med and had been studying there for three years already. They started dating a few weeks later and were married the following summer.

"I tried calling you to invite you to the wedding." Sheila told her friend. "I wanted you to be my maid of honor."

"Really?" Josie questioned in surprise.

Sheila nodded. "I really wanted you to be there, but I couldn't get a hold of you. I must have left called about a dozen times a day, but you never seemed to be there."

Josie was surprised at her persistence. "I thought you'd be glad to get away from me when we graduated from High School." Lowering her voice so Derek wouldn't hear she added. "Especially after what happened Prom night."

It was Sheila's turn to be surprised. "Why would I want to have nothing to do with you because of that?"

"Because Billy Prince humiliated me more than I've ever been humiliated in my life." Josie replied, tears forming in her eyes at the memory of it. Brushing them away she added. "I thought you'd be too embarrassed to be seen with me after Billy bragged to everyone about what he'd done to me."

Sheila looked at her in shock. "Josie, I wanted nothing more than to scratch his eyes out! I swear to you that if Rob hadn't have beat him up I would have seriously considered doing something drastic myself." When Josie was silent for several minutes Sheila pressed gently. "Does Sam know about what happened with Billy?"

Josie nodded her head gently. "He knows most of it. He knows about Billy pelting me with the eggs and that Rob beat him up for it, but he doesn't know about Billy bragging about his triumph to everyone in school…"

"At least until Rob go a hold of him." Her friend remarked with a broad smile. "He didn't do too much bragging - or talking even - after that."

"Well, I guess it's hard to talk when you jaw's wired shut." Josie commented with a slight smirk. Then in a more serious tone she added. "I also didn't tell Sam about the torturing I had to put up with until graduation."

"Why didn't you tell him about that?" Sheila asked with concern. When Josie didn't respond right away she pressed gently. "Josie?"

"It's still a very painful issue for me." Josie told her softly. "In fact until a few weeks ago it was basically a wound that's been festering for the last eight years. Thanks to the events of the last few months I'm finally able to start healing the wound. But it's going to be a slow process. I hadn't talked about what happened with anyone except Rob until I met Sam. He's the one that started the healing process."

"He seems like a great guy." Sheila commented as they reached the Ferris wheel. "You're going to have to tell me how you two met. Maybe we can get together for lunch sometime this week."

"I'd like that." Josie told her honestly, giving her friend a warm smile. "I've really missed you, and funny enough lately I've been contemplating trying to find you."

"What made you decide to do that after eight years?" Sheila's tone was more curious than condemning.

"Well, last weekend Sam introduced me to his best friend who he's know since they were in grade one." Josie explained. "They've been best friends since they were six and their relationship has stood many different tests. It got me thinking about how much I wished you and I were still friends."

Sheila reached over and pulled her into a warm embrace. "We'll always be friends, Josie." She assured her. "Now that we've found each other, let's make sure we never let ourselves drift apart again."

"I'd like that." Josie told her honestly, hugging her old friend tightly to her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this little reunion." Derek's voice suddenly commented as he came up behind the two young women. "But as much as I like Sam, he's not really my partner of choice for this ride." Looking at Sam he grinned teasingly. "No offense, Sam."

"No offense taken, Derek." Sam quickly assured him. "In fact, the feeling is quite mutual."

"Good." The other man nodded. Then turning to Josie he offered her his arm and teased. "Shall we?"

"Hey!" Sam exclaimed in mock indignation before Josie could reply. "That's my girl! Get your own."

"Oh, man!" Derek exclaimed, shaking his head in mock disbelief. Looking at Josie he teased. "You'd better watch this fellow, Josie. He's awfully possessive."

Josie looked at Sam and smiled in amusement. "Yeah, but that's one of the things I love about him."

"Girl have you got it bad!" Sheila teased as she accepted the hand Derek held out to her and followed him towards the ride. The four of them chuckled as they surrendered their tickets to the carnie and climbed on the ride.

"Whoa!" Sam exclaimed when the ride started to move.

Josie giggled slightly and asked. "Want me to hang on to you so you don't go plunging head first into the crowd?"

"How about I hang onto you?" Sam remarked as he slipped his arms around her and pulled her close. Burying his face in her hair he sighed contentedly. "Now this is the way to ride the Ferris wheel." Josie smiled and closed her eyes as she relished the feeling of Sam's arms around her mixed with the sensations from the ride. At that moment, nothing could feel any better.


	9. Chapter 9

It was well after one o'clock in the morning when Sam got home from his first date with Josie. It had been a wonderful evening. Far better than any date he'd ever been on with Lara. They'd both enjoyed everything that had happened, there was no whining or complaining about anything and the evening didn't end with a fight. No, Sam had to admit that this is what he'd always expected dating would be like - fun, relaxing and peaceful. Not World War I, World War II and the Cold War all wrapped into one evening.

As he dropped his keys on the coffee table Sam noted that the light was blinking on his answering machine. Hitting the message button he sank down into his favorite recliner and leaned back.

"You have four new messages." The machine told him before playing them one by one.

"Hey Sam, it's Jon!" Sam smiled at the sound of his best friend's voice. "I see you finally got your machine hooked up. I've been trying to reach you since Wednesday when I got your message with your new number. Joanna and I were hoping that you and Josie would be available to come for supper Saturday night. Nothing fancy, just a barbecue and maybe a movie or something. Let us know if you can make it, okay? I'm assuming since we haven't heard from you in the past few days that you and Josie are enjoying a lot of each other's company. Just don't forget about your old pals there buddy. Especially now that you have a girlfriend that we'd like to get to know better. Call me." Sam made a mental note to call Jonathan first thing in the morning after checking with Josie to see if she was available to go there for supper.

The next message was from his mother. "Hi sweetheart." She greeted warmly. "Just calling to see how the new apartment's going. Getting settled in okay? I just had an interesting conversation with your sister. She told me that you've made some major changes in your life and she wasn't talking about your move. From Abby's description she sounds wonderful Sam. I'm dying to meet her. Are you planning on bringing her to Wisconsin when you come next month? Make sure you call us and fill us in. I'm eager to hear more about this wonderful new girl of yours. Love you."

The next one was from Rob. His greeting caused Sam to laugh out loud. "Hey Samster! Just calling to see if you'd be interested in coming down to the ball park and tossing the ball around for a bit. Thought it might be nice to get in a bit of practice before tomorrow. I tried asking Josie, but she wasn't having any of it. Woman, sheesh! They don't realize the importance of keeping your baseball skills sharp. Let me know if you're available and interested in coming. You can bring my sister too if you want to, though I have a feeling that she's getting a bit annoyed with me. You know the number. Later."

Sam chuckled as a click signaled the end of the message. "That guy has definitely got to find some new hobbies!"

The next message caused the hairs on the back of Sam's neck to stand on edge. "Sam, it's Josie." He could hear the near hysteria in her voice. "There's been an accident. Please call me as soon as you get this message. It's about ten after one."

Grabbing up the phone Sam quickly punched in her number. Josie answered on the first ring. "Hello?" Her tone gave away that she was crying.

"What's happened?" He demanded, his heart jumping into his throat as a thousand scenarios passed through his head.

"Anita's been in an accident." Josie told him tearfully. "A car ran a red light and hit here while she and Gus were crossing at an intersection. She's been rushed to the hospital. Gus just called and begged me to get down there as soon as I can. He sounds pretty upset."

"I'll be there in ten minutes." He told her without waiting for her to ask him to come.

"I'll meet you out front." Sam heard her say before they hung up.

As he grabbed his keys and rushed out the door he said a silent prayer that Anita would be all right.

Josie raced down the hallway of Chicago Mercy hospital with Sam hot on her heels. Rounding a corner she found Gus sitting dejectedly in a chair, his face buried in his hands.

"Gus!" Josie cried and headed for her distraught boss and friend.

Gus looked up, visibly relieved to see her. Rising to his feet he completely surprised Josie by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. "Thank goodness you're here." He whispered emotionally into her hair. Josie didn't say anything for several minutes, she just hugged the upset man that clung to her, rubbing her hands up and down his back in an attempt to comfort him. After a while Gus finally pulled back, embarrassment written on his face. Stepping back a couple of small steps he cleared hi throat and gruffly said. "Thanks for coming, Geller." Nodding at Sam he added. "You too, Sam."

"It's no problem, Gus." Sam assured him sincerely.

"Gus, what happened?" Josie asked anxiously.

Gus closed his eyes as he tried to fight back the tears that wanted to fall. Without a word Josie took his arm and lead him back to the chair that he'd just vacated. She and Sam took the ones on either side of him. "We were on our way home from the movies." He began to explain. "We'd just been to see this chick flick, _**Notting Hill**_ and Anita was feeling all happy and excited because she really enjoyed the story. Anyway, we were crossing at a crosswalk to go to this little coffee shop across the way that she'd been telling me about. She was walking backwards ahead of me chattering away, laughing like an excited school girl." His smile faded and his eyes darkened as he continued. "I never even saw the car coming. One lane of traffic stopped for the flashing crossing lights, but the second one didn't. A car raced through the crosswalk, its bumper catching Anita in the side and tossing her back towards me. It all happened so fast, but I was able to react fast enough to catch her and cushion her fall. She was pretty banged up. The driver of the front car in the other lane called 9-1-1 and said that he'd talk to the police so I could go to the hospital with Anita." Josie was shocked when tears started running down the face of her normally gruff boss. The look in his eyes was enough to break her heart. "I was never so scared in my life." He admitted honestly. "She looked so pale and fragile lying there on that stretcher. I found myself holding my breath hoping to hear hers." The fear rose in his expression. "What if she doesn't make it? What if she dies without knowing how much she means to me?" Looking the younger woman in the eye he confessed seriously. "I love her, Josie. I love her more than I have ever loved anyone. Actually, I've never felt anything close to this for anyone else. There's something about her being a part of my life that makes it complete. I can't explain it…" He looked at her hopefully. "Do you know what I mean?"

Josie looked past Gus to smile at Sam. "I know exactly what you mean." Gus glanced from one to the other and nodded his head before dropping his face tiredly in his hands.

"Excuse me." A strange voice suddenly said, interrupting the trio. They looked up into the sympathetic looking face of a blond haired man. His expression was mirrored on the face of his dark-haired companion. "We're sorry to bother you, but we're looking for a Mr. Augustus Strauss."

The owner of the name looked up at the blond man wearily. "I'm Gus Strauss."

"Mr. Strauss, my name is Detective Ray Kowalski, Chicago Police Department." The blond man introduced himself, then gesturing to his companion he added. "And this is my partner, Constable Benton Fraser of the RCMP."

Gus frowned slightly. "A Mountie?"

"That's right." Constable Fraser acknowledged with a smile. "I first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of my father and for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture I have remained here attached as liaison with the Canadian Consulate."

Gus' frown deepened as he glanced at Detective Kowalski. "This guy for real?"

"Very much so." The Detective confirmed with a slightly amused look at his partner. Then turning his attention back to Gus he asked. "What can you tell us about what happened tonight?"

Gus swallowed emotionally as he once again mentally replayed the events of the past few hours. "Anita and I had just left the Movie Theater and were crossing the street at the crosswalk when a car failed to yield the flashing lights and sped through the intersection. He hit Anita and kept on going."

"Did you get a look at the driver or the car?" The CPD officer pressed eagerly. "Did you happened to get the license plate number?"

The older man shook his head. "It all happened so fast. I was more concerned about Anita then the car."

"That's certainly understandable, sir." Constable Fraser commented sympathetically. "But is there anything about the car that you can remember that may help us track down Miss Brandt's assailant?"

Gus started to shake his head than stopped. "There was some kind of design on the passenger door of the car."

'What kind of design?" Ray asked curiously.

"I didn't really notice." Gus admitted honestly. "I just remember it shining as it passed the street lights." He sighed in frustration. "I wish I could help you more."

"If you remember anything else please call me at this number." The Detective handed Gus his business card. Gus accepted the card and nodded.

"Do you have any leads on who may have hit Anita?" Sam asked anxiously, looking from one officer to the other.

"Nothing solid yet." The blond detective told him honestly. "Theo Winchester, the guy that called 9-1-1, gave us a better description of the car. He also mentioned the design on the door and he managed to get part of the license number, but its too soon to have anything solid. We'll keep you posted."

"I'd appreciate that." Gus gave him an appreciative look.

"Detective, Constable." The two officers turned at the sound of their titles to find Lieutenant Harding Welsh coming down the hall.

"Lieutenant?" Ray Kowalski questioned in surprise at the sight of his boss approaching.

"Any news yet, Detective?" The older man asked curiously.

"Nothing yet, sir." The Detective informed him. "Francesca get anything on that license plate number?"

"Not yet." Harding replied. "She said she'd call when she found something." Turning from the two officers he surprised them as well as Sam and Josie when he put a comforting hand on Gus' shoulder and asked gently. "How you holding up, Gus?"

"I've been better, Harding." Gus told the other man with a sigh.

"Well, don't worry about anything except Anita." His friend said, giving the other man's shoulder a squeeze. "I've got two of my best men on this." He glanced at Ray and Fraser proudly. Gus followed his gaze. "We'll nail the scumbag who's responsible."

"I appreciate that, Harding. And I can't tell you how much I appreciate you coming down here." The normally gruff editor told his friend sincerely.

"My pleasure." The gruff police Lieutenant assured him, giving his shoulder another squeeze.

"Wait a minute!" Ray Kowalski suddenly exclaimed in confusion. "How do you two know each other?"

"We played baseball together in High School." Harding told his Detective proudly. "Gus was the star player our Senior Year."

"And Harding was my best friend." Gus added.

"You never told us that!" Josie exclaimed in amazement. "Rob would be all over you if he knew."

"That's exactly why I didn't say anything." Gus told her pointedly. "I didn't want that over eager brother of yours to drive me crazy!"

"Guy a baseball nut?" Harding asked knowingly. The trio rolled their eyes simultaneously.

"Nut is an understatement." Josie exclaimed with evident exasperation. "When it comes to baseball, my brother is certifiably insane!"

"Each of us have our little habits or hobbies that make others think that about another." Harding commented, looking at his two officers knowingly.

"Hey, I resent that!" Ray exclaimed, pretending to be insulted by the jab. Looking at his partner he asked. "Don't you resent that, Frase?"

Fraser rubbed his earlobe thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, you know Ray, the Leftenant does have a point. A lot of times we judge other people by their habits or hobbies."

"Yeah, like everyone thinking you're a freak because you go around in that bright red jacket and taste everything you find off the ground." The blond detective commented.

"Come on, Ray." His partner denied, a trifle defensively. "I don't tasted _everything_ I find on the ground." The after a brief pause he added. "Besides, you're not without your notable habits."

"Save it." Ray suddenly snapped. "I'm not in the mood to hear yet another lecture on my eating habits, okay!"

"Understood!" The Mountie nodded slightly.

There was a slight pause before the detective asked, all traces of annoyance and anger gone from his voice. "You wanna get something to eat?"

"It's three o'clock in the morning, Ray." Fraser commented, glancing at his watch.

"So, what?" Ray shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I'm hungry and I always sleep better on a full stomach."

"Actually Ray, scientists have shown…"

"Fraser!" The blond man's irritated voice stopped the Mountie short. "I told you I don't want to hear another lecture on my eating habits. Do you want something to eat - yes or no?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I could go for a hot drink." Fraser accepted.

"Great, let's grab something before I drop you off at the Consulate." Ray commented cheerily. "I know this all night dinner near there." Looking at the other he said to Gus. "We'll keep you informed of any leads." Then glancing at Welsh he added. "See you in the morning, Lieutenant."

"It's already morning, Detective." The Lieutenant informed him gruffly. "I don't want to see your skinny butt before noon. That's an order." Looking at Fraser he added. "Make sure he follows it, Constable."

"Understood." The Canadian acknowledged with a nod. "Goodnight, Leftenant, Mr. Strauss." Then turning to his partner he prompted. "Ray?" Ray nodded and echoed his friend's goodnights.

As the pair walked down the hall Gus couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "So that's the infamous duo you keep telling me about, Harding." Shaking his head slightly he added. "No wonder you keep complaining about them. They certainly are the most annoying pair."

"They are." Harding Welsh agreed with a smile. "But they are also two of the finest police officers I have ever had the privilege of working with."

"They don't seem to like each other very much." Sam observed seriously. "I wonder how they get any work done with all the fighting that they do."

"Don't let appearances deceive you, son." Harding told the young man, traces of amusement on his face. "Those two are best friends and as thick as any two fleshly brothers could be. You say anything against either one and you'd better be ready to answer to the other."

Sam shook his head slightly. "You'd never know it by looking at them."

"Trust me." Welsh assured him with a smile. "After listening to them for two years you get to recognize when they're just talking and when they're really at each other's throats."

"So _how did_ those two get teamed up together?" Josie asked curious to learn more about the unlikely pair.

Before the police Lieutenant could answer a woman in green surgical scrubs appeared in the waiting area. "Are you here for Anita Brandt?" She asked the quartet eagerly.

"That's right, doctor." Gus acknowledged as he rose to his feet. "I'm her boss, Gus Strauss." Noting the way Josie's eyebrows raised slightly at him he cleared his throat nervously and added. "I'm also her boyfriend."

If the doctor noticed his hesitation she didn't comment on it. "I'm Dr. Margaret Smith." She introduced. "Ms. Brandt is in recovery."

"How is she?" Josie asked anxiously, gripping Sam's hand tightly for reassurance.

"She's sustained severe trauma to her left side." The doctor told her. "She has three broken ribs and her left leg was fractured in two places. Fortunately she received no trauma to the head and no major organs were damaged. There was some internal bleeding, but we were able to stop it."

"So she'll recover?" Sam pressed noting that both Josie and Gus looked too choked to speak.

Dr. Smith nodded. "Yes, she'll make a full recovery. Though it will probably be a very slow one. She'll have to keep still to give her ribs time to mend and she'll probably have to have some physical therapy once her leg has healed, but she's strong and healthy…"

"And stubborn." Gus added seriously causing Josie to smile knowingly.

"She is that." Anita's best friend confirmed to Sam and Harding.

"Can I see her?" Gus asked anxiously.

"She's in recovery right now." The doctor told him. "But once we move her you can see her."

"Thank you, Doctor." Gus shook her hand and gave her a relieved smile.

"You're welcome." She smiled back, but then remarked. "Things aren't over yet though. Anita still has a long way to go and she's going to need a lot of help and support from her family and friends."

"You can count on us, Doctor." Josie assured her firmly.

"I'm sure she'll be glad to hear that." The surgeon commented with a smile. Then looking at Gus she said. "I'll let you know when you can see her."

"Thank you." He acknowledged. As the Medical doctor left the waiting area Gus turned to Josie and surprised her greatly by pulling her to him for a happy embrace. "She's going to be okay, Josie!" He exclaimed eagerly as Josie giggled slightly, nerves and tension making her giddy. "She's going to be okay!" After a moment he pulled back and looked at Josie a very determined expression in his eyes.

"What is it, Gus?" Josie asked anxiously.

"I've decided that when Anita wakes up I'm going to tell her how I feel." Gus announced firmly. "I'm going to tell her that I love her!"

It was late the next afternoon before Anita woke with any sort of alertness. She'd regained consciousness periodically throughout the day, but each time had been brief and she'd been confused. She hadn't even realized that Gus had sat protectively by her side the entire time, her left hand kept securely clasped in both of his.

"Anita?" The sound of her name caused Anita to turn her head towards the sound of the gentle voice.

Seeing Gus sitting beside her, peering at her through the bed rail Anita smiled. "Hi." She breathed softly. Then with a teasing grin added. "You look terrible."

Unable to help himself Gus chuckled slightly. "You should talk." Then surprising both of them he suddenly rose to his feet and leaned over the bed rail to kiss her tenderly on the lips. Anita smiled against his mouth and carefully lifted a hand to tangle her fingers in his curly hair, pulling him closer. Several moments later Gus pulled away just enough to look into her face. Reaching down to run a tender hand along her cheek he finally said the words that Anita had been longing to hear. "I love you, Anita Brandt."

Tears appeared in Anita's eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair again before responding. "I love you too, Gus." Gus smiled broadly and leaned down to kiss her again. The sound of someone clearing their throat finally caused the two to separate.

Glancing towards the door the couple found a very obviously amused Sam and Josie standing in the doorway. "You kids better take it easy." Sam teased lightly. "It's not good for the patient to get too excited." Josie groaned and rolled her eyes as he raised his eyebrows a couple of times at Anita, who started to laugh.

"Oh, stop that." She moaned as she held her side in pain. "It hurts when I laugh."

Sam grinned wickedly at her as he moved to her bedside on the opposite side to where Gus was standing. "Then don't laugh." His eyes twinkled as he leaned down and placed a friendly kiss on her cheek.

Anita slapped playfully at his arm. "Brat!" She exclaimed as he feigned a hurt look. When Josie leaned down to gently hug her friend Anita whispered loudly. "You're boyfriend is a pain."

"I know." Josie agreed with a sly look at Sam. "But you have to love him anyway."

Anita looked thoughtful for a brief moment before saying to Sam. "It's just a good thing that you're so cute."

"And generous too." He told her as he handed her a box of chocolates.

"Pot of Gold." She sighed happily. "My favorite. You're a prince."

"Wow, elevated from Brat to Prince with one box of chocolates!" Sam exclaimed jokingly. "I wonder what she'd call me if I bought her a whole chocolate factory."

"God." She breathed in mock ecstasy.

After the laughter died Gus looked at the younger couple and asked curiously. "So how did practice go? Is everyone up to our first game?"

"Hey, give us a break!" Josie exclaimed with mock annoyance. This was only our first practice and our first game isn't until the middle of next month."

Gus looked from Josie to Sam and pressed. "How did they do, coach?"

"Pretty well." Sam assured him honestly. "There's a few bugs to work out and it'll take a few practices for everyone to get use to working together as a team, but on the whole I think we've got a pretty good team."

"Though Sam almost had a mutiny on his hands when Rob learned that you appointed Sam Assistant Coach." Josie commented with a laugh. "I think I almost lost my boyfriend."

"Rob doesn't scare me." Sam told her confidently. "I could take him."

"I don't know." Josie commented with a teasing smile. "Rob can fight pretty dirty sometimes."

"So can I." He assured her. When she gave him a measuring look he exclaimed. "Hey, I'm no push over!"

With a sly grin she turned her back on him and coyly remarked. "We'll see."

"So how did you handle him?" Gus asked Sam curiously.

Josie grinned back up at Sam and replied. "He made Rob _his_ Assistant Coach."

Anita giggled slightly. "That's really showing him who's boss."

"Well, hey." Sam shrugged good-naturedly and wrapped his arms around Josie's waist, pulling her back against him. "I am dating his sister, I have to be nice. After all he'll probably be my brother-in-law someday." Josie looked at Anita and blushed slightly as Sam hugged her tighter. Anita just smiled delightedly at her friend.

Changing the subject Josie asked her injured friend. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a car." She replied a mildly mischievous smile on her lips. "Other than that I'm fine." Giving Gus' hand a tender squeeze she added. "More than fine, actually." Josie and Sam exchanged amused looks as a red tinge stained Gus' cheeks.

"Well, we're glad to hear it." Josie told her friend sincerely. "You had us so worried."

"Sorry." Anita gave her an apologetic look. "By the time I realized that car wasn't going to stop it was too late to do anything about it."

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. We're just relieved that it wasn't more serious." The younger woman told her, carefully leaning down to hug her again. "You're my best friend and I love you very much."

"I love you too." Anita replied, hugging her back.

When Josie pulled away and stood back up she was surprised when Sam took her place, hugging Anita. "I love you too, Anita." He told her.

Anita, surprised, gave him a gentle hug and laughed nervously. When Sam pulled back just enough to see her face he winked mischievously and said. "I was feeling left out." The four of them, even Gus who had been eyeing him cautiously, chuckled lightly at his comment. When he straightened back up he gave Josie a cheeky grin before glancing at his watch and urging. "Honey, we should really get going. Jon and Joanna are expecting us at six."

"Okay." Josie nodded then reached out to squeeze her best friend's arm. "I'll be back to see you tomorrow."

"I'll be here." Anita told her with a warm smile. "Have fun tonight."

"We will." Josie acknowledged as she moved around the bed to where Gus was standing. Squeezing his shoulder gently she added. "See you later, Gus."

"See you, Geller. Coulson." Gus nodded to both of them as they headed to the door.

Anita watched the younger couple leave the room, a soft smile on her lips. "In some ways I envy Josie. It's so nice to be young and in love."

"Yeah, I suppose it is." Gus agreed emotionlessly as he looked out the door that the other couple had just exited.

"Yeah, but you know, in other ways I wouldn't trade my life for anything in the world."

"Why's that?" Gus asked, looking at her curiously.

"Because as sweet and nice as Sam Coulson is…" She looked at Gus tenderly as she finished. "…he's not you." Lifting a hand to touch his upper arm she added. "I love you, Gus Strauss. I love you with all my heart." The smile Gus flashed her just before his lips met hers could have lit up the entire city of Chicago.

Sam couldn't help but smile to himself when he glanced at the clock on the dash of his car. It was only ten minutes to six. Another two or three minutes would easily get them to Jonathan and Joanna's place. They would actually be on time, if not a few minutes early. It was such a wonderful feeling.

When he and Lara were dating it have been virtually impossible to get her anywhere on time. The very concept seemed foreign to her. It was like she had this unspoken rule that she had to be at least twenty minutes late for everything. And the harder you tried to get her somewhere on time, the deeper she'd dig in her heels and the later you'd end up being. It drove Sam and his friends' nuts but they were powerless to stop it. Once they had tried tricking her by telling her an earlier time just to get her there on time, but when she'd found out what they'd done she'd given Sam such a tongue lashing in front of everyone that they never tried deceiving her like that again.

Sam was greatly relieved to see that Josie wasn't like that. In fact she seemed to be very much like him in that she preferred to be early for things.

"Here we are." Sam announced as they pulled into the driveway of a three-story brick townhouse.

Nervously Josie checked her reflection in the visor mirror. "How do I look?" She asked Sam anxiously as she smoothed her hair and checked her makeup.

"Honey, you look fine." He assured her sincerely.

"I hope so." She said as she closed the visor mirror and looked at him worriedly. "I want you friends to like me."

"My friends already love you." He told her honestly.

"Really?" She gave him a hopefully look.

"Would I ever lie to you?" He asked her, flashing her a bright smile. A guilty look appeared on Josie's face. Reaching over to take her hand Sam kissed the back of it before addressing her thoughts. "You did what you had to for your job. You only deceived me because you had no other choice. I've already forgiven you for that. There's no need to worry about it. We start fresh from the moment you told me the truth, okay?" Josie nodded, too choked to speak. She still couldn't believe that this wonderful man had so easily forgiven her her lies. It seemed to be too good to be true. "Now come on, Jonathan and Joanna think you are one of the greatest people that they have ever met and they completely agree with me in thinking that you and I are perfect for each other."

Josie gave him a shy smile. "You think we're perfect for each other?"

"Completely." He said, leaning closer to her and looking deep into her eyes. "Josie Geller, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me and I love you with all my heart."

Josie felt her heart melt at his words. "I love you too." She closed the gap between them and planted a tender kiss on his lips. Pulling back slightly she whispered. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Sam Coulson." She punctuated her feelings by placing another kiss on her lips.

After a few moments Sam pulled reluctantly away. "We'd better get inside before I loose control of my senses again. Your kisses are much too tempting, Miss Geller." Josie blushed as she followed his lead and got out of the car.

"Sam! Josie! Glad you could make it!" Jonathan greeted the couple warmly when he opened the front door. "Come in. Come in. I was just getting ready to fire up the old barbecue. Hope hamburgers sound okay to everyone."

"That sounds fine, Jonathan.," Josie acknowledged when Sam looked at her for confirmation. "I'm easy going."

"She is too." Sam confirmed happily.

Jonathan gave them both a warm smile. "I'm happy to hear it." Then gesturing to the doorway at the end of the hall he said. "Jo's in the kitchen making up a pasta salad and a few other odds and ends. Why don't you join her Josie while Sam helps me fire up the grill."

Sam looked at Josie hesitantly for a moment. "That okay, honey?"

Josie pretended to look thoughtful for a moment. "You got a fire extinguisher handy?" She asked Jonathan without a trace of teasing.

Surprised Jon nodded. "Yeah, there's one in the kitchen and one in the back closet by the patio doors."

"In easy reach from the back yard?" She queried.

"Yeah." Her host nodded, still not understanding the reason for her questions.

Josie nodded, satisfied. "Then I guess it's safe to leave you and Sam alone with the barbecue." She flashed Jonathan a teasing smile.

Unaccustomed to being teased by his best friend's girlfriend it took Jon another moment to realize that it was all a joke. Finally realization dawned on him and he started laughing. Looking at Sam he commented delightedly. "I'm gong to have to watch this one I think."

Josie smiled, relieved that her small joke was well received. Looking at Sam she encouraged. "I'll be fine. You two go out and enjoy yourself. Just try not to sacrifice dinner. I like my burgers well done, but not charcoaled."

"Are you sure?" Sam pressed, wanting to make sure she was comfortable with his friends.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She nodded. "I definitely don't like my burgers charcoaled!" Grinning mischievously at him she waved her hand at him and said. "Go on, have fun. It'll give me some time to get some more dirt on you from Joanna. She said she had plenty she would share with me."

"Dirt? What kind of dirt?" He asked, pretending to be nervous.

"All the big, juicy stories that I've been saving since Grade school." Joanna said, appearing out of the kitchen, a dishtowel in hand. "You know those nice embarrassing stories that a guy just loves for his girlfriend to hear."

"I don't remember you telling any such stories to Lara." Sam commented, an amused look on his face.

"That's because that kind of conversation is called 'girl talk' and Lara and I didn't do 'girl talk'." Joanna replied in a curt tone. "Lara and I barely did regular talk." Giving Josie a warm smile she slipped an arm through Josie's and said. "This one on the other hand looks like she would enjoy a little bit of 'girl talk'."

Josie returned Joanna's warm smile. "I _love_ 'girl talk'." Then jerking her head towards Sam she added. "Especially if it involves finding out some more dirt on this guy."

"Well then, lets get to it." Joanna shot Sam a mischievous grin as she said. "We'll see you guys later."

"_Please_ don't embarrass me too much, Jo." Sam pleaded at Joanna's retreating back. "I hope to keep Josie around for quite a long time and I don't want you saying anything that'll make her not want that."

As Joanna shot Sam a saucy grin Josie turned her head and mouthed to Sam: "That'll never happen." Before Sam could respond they disappeared into the kitchen.

"Come on, Romeo." Jonathan teased as he tugged on his best friend's sleeve to get his attention. "Let's get those burgers going." Sam nodded his head and followed his friend outside.

Meanwhile Joanna and Josie were getting better acquainted in the kitchen. "So, how as your first week as Sam's girlfriend?" Joanna asked curiously as she chopped up some peppers for her pasta salad.

Josie's eyes began to sparkle as she exclaimed honestly. "It has been the most incredible week of my life. I never would have imagined it to be so, but I love Sam more now than I did this time last week. He is the most incredible man I have ever known." She blushed slightly at her honest admittance.

Joanna smiled softly. "You and Sam are certainly perfect for each other, Josie. I can safely say that I have never seen him happier. I want to thank you for that. Jonathan and I both feel a debt of gratitude towards you for everything you've done for Sam. We were both so scared that he'd end up marrying Lara just because he felt obligated to do so after their long history instead of ditching her for someone more suitable for him. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't come along when you did."

Josie hesitated for a moment before asking candidly. "Did Sam ever mention marrying, Lara?"

Joanna shook her head. "Never. Anytime the subject was brought up it was always Lara pushing for it. Not once did Sam ever say that he wanted to marry her. But usually whatever Lara wanted, Lara got. That's why we were so scared. We figured that if Lara pushed Sam hard enough he'd marry her just to get her to lay off. Not that that's a good reason to get married, but Sam's such an easy going guy that he doesn't like saying 'no' to anyone."

Josie felt familiar fears well up in her mind. "Do you think that's why he forgave me so easily? Because he couldn't not?" Looking at Joanna fearfully she asked. "Do you think Sam's only dating me because he feels sorry for me? Or because he thinks I expected it after I told him the truth?"

Joanna looked at the young woman before her. This morning when Sam had called Jonathan to accept the invitation he'd told them a little bit more about Josie then he'd been able to the weekend before. He hadn't gone into any specific details, but he had said that Josie's confidence in herself and in men had been shattered by something that had happened to her in High School. He'd said that she was apt to expect the worse instead of accepting that something good could ever happen to her. Joanna had scoffed slightly figuring that Sam was exaggerating things and that Josie's comments were merely from being in a new relationship. But now seeing first hand the amount of uncertainty and fear that was right now lurking in Josie's beautiful blue eyes she began to realize just how much emotional damage whatever had happened to her in High School had caused. Putting down her knife and her pepper Joanna wiped her hands on the dishtowel before moving around the counter to stand before Josie. Putting her hands on Josie's upper arms she looked Josie directly in the eye and said. "Sam forgave you because he understood your situation and the awkward position that your boss had put you in. He's dating you because he is very clearly head over heels in love with you. I have known Sam for a lot of years and in all the years that he dated Lara I never saw him show a fraction of the affection or the love that he showers on you to her. They were barely holding hands by the end of it. It was as if he couldn't stand even touching her. But with you its like if he doesn't touch you or kiss you every five minutes he'll go crazy."

"Jo, Jon needs the barbecue sauce." Sam's voice called out as he entered the back door and came walking down the hallway.

"Speak of the devil." Joanna grinned mischievously at Josie before moving to the fridge to get the required condiment.

"How's it going?" Sam asked the woman as he entered the kitchen.

"Great." Josie quickly assured him, Joanna's words still playing over and over again in her mind. She felt Joanna's eyes on her as Sam put his hands gently on her shoulders and gave them a tender squeeze.

Bending down he whispered loud enough for Joanna to hear. "If she starts telling you about the time Jonathan and I went in the High School beauty pageant, please do me a favor and change the subject." Kissing her cheek he straightened up in time to face his long time friend.

"Oh, yes. The beauty pageant." Joanna commented with a wicked grin. "I'd almost forgotten about that."

"Let's keep it that way." Sam commented as he took the barbecue sauce bottle Joanna held out to him.

Leaning back down to Josie he said teasingly. "Just remember that fifty percent of what Jo says is a lie, and the other half is untrue."

Josie chuckled slightly in amusement. "I'll remember that."

"Good." Sam nodded before kissing her gently on the lips. "Well, I guess I'd better go make sure that Jon hasn't charcoaled Josie's burger yet." He winked at he slyly before leaving the room.

When Joanna heard the door to the backyard shut behind Sam she looked at Josie a trifle smugly and said. "What did I tell you?"

Josie smiled slightly. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." Jo teased as she fluffed her hair slightly. "I'm always right. Except when I'm wrong." She shot her new friend a teasing look as she resumed her chopping.

Josie leaned her elbow on the counter top before her and said seriously. "I know this sounds very selfish, but I'm glad that Lara wasn't as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Not that I'm glad about all the grief that she gave Sam, but I am glad that he broke up with her. I fell in love with Sam my first class with him three months ago and it nearly broke my heart when I met Lara that night at Delloser. I was absolutely sure then that there was absolutely no chance for me to be anything more than Sam's friend, if I was that lucky. It made me sad because I knew that I would always love him."

"Is that why you looked so upset when Sam saw you at Senior's Nite the next night?" Joanna asked curiously. "That was certainly the big reason." Josie told her honestly. "Then when Sam sat with me on the Ferris Wheel I started thinking well maybe he did like me. But then he brought up Lara and my heart sunk again. I mean, I know that wasn't fair of me to think such things, especially since Sam thought I was only seventeen. But sometimes the heat doesn't always act logically."

"What would you have done if you'd known then that Sam was just as crazy about you as you were about him?" The older woman asked curiously.

"I would have told him everything - story or no story." Josie told her without hesitation. "That's what my mom kept telling me to do. She was convinced that he like me just from what I'd told her about him, but I refused to believe her. I didn't want to get my hopes up. After all, Sam was the first person to encourage me in my writing and show any kind of faith in my abilities so it would be far too much to believe that he'd also fall in love with me."

"But he did." Joanna remarked seriously.

"Yes he did." Josie nodded with a smile. "And I pinch myself about a hundred times a day to make sure its still real."

"You'd better stop doing that." Her companion teased lightly. "You'll turn yourself all black and blue." The pair chuckled then Joanna said. "So I understand Sam's taking you to Wisconsin next month to meet his family."

Josie nodded again, a nervous look appearing on her face. "I guess so. He invited me to go the other day, but we didn't really discuss it until last night. Sounds like we're going the first weekend in July."

"You don't sound too happy about it." Jo observed carefully. "Don't you want to meet Sam's family?"

"It's not that." Josie quickly assured the other woman. "I mean, I do want to meet them. If they're anything like Sam I'm sure I'll really like them. It's just…"

"It's just what?" Joanna pressed when the younger woman trailed off.

Josie hesitated for a moment before explaining. "What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm all wrong for Sam and they try to convince him into dumping me? I don't know what I'd do if that happened."

Joanna gave her a warm, reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Josie. Sam's family is going to love you. In fact they are going to be absolutely thrilled that Sam has found someone as wonderful and as sweet as you to spend the rest of his life with. Cause face it, honey, that guy is never letting you go."

"I hope not." Josie admitted seriously. "Because I never want to be without him. In fact ever since I first met him I couldn't picture my life without him."

"Well, I must admit I'm glad to hear it." Joanna acknowledged as she finished mixing her salad. After popping it in the fridge she asked. "What do you say we join those wonderful guys of ours outside?"

"Sounds good." Josie acknowledged with a broad smile. "Especially since the most important lesson I learned from my father and my brother is that you don't leave men alone for too long with a barbecue. Not unless you want a sacrificial offering for supper."

"Amen." Joanna agreed as she led the way out.

"So how are things going with you and Josie?" Jonathan asked his best friend as they lounged in some lawn chairs by the barbecue.

Sam's whole face lit up at the thought of his beautiful girlfriend. "I feel like I've been in a dream this past week, Jon. I mean I never ever thought I'd ever be in a relationship with someone who actually likes the same things that I do, that would let me just be myself without constantly trying to change or improve me."

"Well that 's the way a true, loving relationship is suppose to be, Sam." Jonathan told him seriously. "It's about give and take and compromises, not trying to mold the other person to fit your ideals."

"I want to marry her, Jon." Sam smiled when his best friend's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. Usually whenever Lara had brought up the subject of marriage Sam would either change the subject, get very quiet or else leave the room if Lara wouldn't let up. This was the first time that Jonathan could ever remember Sam bringing the subject up on his own. It was definitely an interesting turn of events.

"It's that serious, is it?" Jon remarked, watching his friend carefully.

"Its very serious." Sam acknowledged with a nod. "Josie makes me feel complete, happy. Nobody has ever made me feel that way before. I'm going to ask her to marry me."

"Don't you think you're taking things a little bit fast here, Sam?" His friend commented with obvious concern. "I mean you and Josie have only been seeing each other for a week. And it was only a week before that that you broke up with Lara the Hun. Don't you think you should take these things a little slower? I mean you have the rest of your lives ahead of you."

"I know that." Sam acknowledged with a serious look on his face. "But you never know what the future holds."

"What do you mean?" The other man asked in confusion.

"I told you about how Josie's best friend, Anita landed in the hospital, right?"

"The one that got hit by the car?" Jonathan replied. At Sam's confirming nod he asked. "How is she?"

"She'll be fine." Sam assured him. "But she gave us all a very bad scare. And last night when Josie and I were sitting in the waiting room with Anita's boyfriend, Gus - who also happens to be Anita and Josie's boss - all I could think was what would I do if anything ever happened to Josie?" Looking at his best friend seriously he continued. "To tell you the truth, I don't know what I'd do. We may have only started dating a week ago, but Josie has been an important part of my life since I first met her in March. She's so much a part of me now Jon that I don't want to ever be without her. I love her more than I ever loved Lara, even in the beginning and I want to marry her. I plan on asking her before the summer's over."

"Does Josie know how you feel?" Jon pressed curiously. "Does she know you're planning on proposing to her?"

"I think she has a pretty good idea." Josie's boyfriend commented with a light chuckle. "Especially since I told her that I'd be asking her to marry me the night I asked her if she'd be my girlfriend."

"Boy, you don't waste anytime, do you?" His friend teased. "What did she say?"

"She seemed pleased by the thought." Sam said. "I did tell her that I would wait for a while since this is her first relationship and I want her to enjoy it without the pressures of planning a wedding. But I don't know how much longer I can wait. I want everyone to know that she's mine and only mine."

Jonathan laughed in amusement at his friend's eager expression. "She still is yours, Sam. She's _your_ girlfriend."

"I know." Sam acknowledged with a smile. "But I want it to be more definite than that. More lasting. Like I told Josie the other day, I'm not interested in a short time, I want a lifetime." Looking at his friend he asked. "Think next week's too soon to ask her?"

"Maybe a little." Jon laughed with amusement. "I'd wait a few more weeks if you can."

"I'll try." Sam said with a dramatic sigh. "But it won't be easy."

"What won't be easy?" Josie's voice asked as she came up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. Joanna collapsed into the empty lawn chair beside Jonathan.

"Fighting the urge to run off with you and elope." He teased as he tilted his head back so he could look up at her.

"Oh." Josie blushed slightly at his response.

"Here, have a seat." Sam encouraged as he patted his knee invitingly. Josie hesitated, glancing shyly at Jon and Jo who were watching them with open interest. "It's okay, I won't bit." He promised her.

Josie giggled slightly. "Okay." Slowly she came around him and stood uncertainly in front of him.

"Come here." He took her hand and tugged on it gently, urging her to sit down. Nervously Josie obliged, gently settling herself on his lap. Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "See, nothing to it." Josie smiled at him, her cheeks rosy with embarrassment. "So what movie are we watching tonight?" Sam asked, trying to help alleviate Josie's discomfort.

"I got _**Ever After**_." Joanna told him. "It's a really good sappy chick flick."

"Good." Sam acknowledged with a smile. "I'm in the mood for a good romance."

"_**Ever After**_." Josie repeated. "Is that the Cinderella-type story with Drew Barrymore and Angelica Houston?"

"That's it." Joanna confirmed. "Have you seen it?"

Josie nodded. "Anita and I went and saw it at the theater when it first came out. That is a wonderful movie. I really like Drew Barrymore. I think she's a really good actress."

"She's the one that played the little girl in _**ET**_, right?" Jonathan asked curiously.

"Yeah, that's her." Josie nodded. "My dad use to tell me that I looked just like her when I was little. I use to say that explains why Rob was the way he was. He'd spent too much time playing with aliens when he was a child."

"Do you mind watching _**Ever After**_ again?" Sam asked.

"Of course not." She assured him. "In fact Anita and I loved it so much we went and saw it three times when it was in the theaters. I didn't realize that it was out on video already or I probably would have gotten a copy."

"It came out in March I think." Joanna told her. "Somewhere around there anyway."

"Well that would explain it." Josie commented. "I haven't had a chance to rent any videos since I started my undercover assignment in March. This will be a nice treat."

"What kind of movies do you like?" Joanna asked Josie inquiringly.

"I like a good love story." Josie told them then admitted honestly. "They use to make me sad though."

"Why?" Joanna asked curiously, noting the mixture of emotions that played across her friend's face.

Looking at Sam Josie replied. "Because I never thought I'd ever find my own guy to live happily ever after with. I've watched all these movies about true love and love conquering all, but I was sure I'd never find it myself. I'm so glad that I was wrong."

"So am I." Sam said sincerely as he leaned up to kiss her tenderly.

"You know your story would make a good movie." Joanna commented with a teasing grin.

"Come on." Sam exclaimed to his friend, knowing that she was teasing.

"No, Jo's right." Jonathan eagerly piped up. "It's got everything a good love story should have: two love starved people looking for that special someone but when they meet all kinds of trials seem to be preventing them from getting together."

"Hey, we could call it _Never Been Kissed_." Sam gave Josie a mischievous look. Her only response was to slap him playfully on the chest.

"Maybe we could even convince Drew Barrymore to play Josie." Jonathan commented with a laugh. Then giving her a playful wink he added. "Of course Brad Pitt would play me."

"You're not that good-looking." His wife retorted with mock seriousness. "In fact I think you'd be better played by Michael Dorn." When Jonathan favored her with a frown she laughed and added. "Especially when you look like that."

"Are you so delicately trying to tell me that I look like a Klingon?" He asked her in a mock huffy voice.

"If the ridges fit..." She replied giving him a wicked grin.

"A Klingon?" Josie queried, a thoughtful look on her face.

Sam, mistaking the reason for her expression, hastened to explain. "Klingons are a fictious alien race from the _**Star Trek **_series."

"I know." Josie assured him with a small smile. "But I don't think Jonathan would make a very good Klingon. I don't believe he's fierce or blood thirsty enough. No, I think he'd be more like a Telaxian. After all, Neelix was always very genial." Giving Jon a mischievous look she added. "Maybe we could get Ethan Philips to play you in _**Never Been Kissed**_."

"Hardy har har." Jonathan laughed sarcastically. "Oh, you're so funny, you are."

"I try." Josie returned, pretending to take his words as a compliment. Noting that Sam was looking at her funny she asked curiously. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing's the matter." He assured her with a warm smile. "I'm just surprised, is all. I can't believe you like _**Star Trek**_."

Josie shrugged slightly. "I grew up on reruns of _**TOS**_. When I was in High School Sheila got me hooked on _**TNG**_ and then when _**DS9**_ and _**Voyager**_ came out I started watching them too. Though I have to admit, I don't care much for _**DS9**_, but I like all the others. I've even seen all the _**Star Trek**_ movies."

Sam looked at Jon and grinned in delight. "She even knows all the acronyms."

"Are you a _**Star Trek**_ fan?" Josie asked Sam, figuring he must be from his reaction to finding out that she liked it.

Joanna rolled her eyes and said. "These two are _**Star Trek**_ fans the same way that I get the impression that your brother is a baseball fan."

"Oh no." Josie groaned in mock horror. "They're not _that_ bad, are they?"

"Have you seen our Rec. room?" Joanna asked gesturing towards the house. Immediately she realized that she hadn't. "They have got more books and action figures and _**Star Trek **_memorabilia then most women have pairs of shoes."

"That is bad." Josie acknowledged with a laugh. Then looking at Sam she remarked. "How come I didn't see any of your _**Star Trek**_stuff when we packed up your apartment?" Giving him a teasing glance she asked. "Did you pack it up yourself to make sure none of it got lost or broken?"

"That's exactly what I did." He confirmed, a serious expression on his face. "But I did that over a year ago." At Josie's curious expression he explained. "After Lara got rid of my autographed Gordie Howe helmet I decided that I'd better do something about the rest of my prized possessions before she decided to get rid of them too. So, I packed up anything I treasured that could easily be carted away and brought it over here for safe storage until a time that I dared bring it out again."

"I think that time may have come, Sam." Jon commented seriously, glancing pointedly at Josie.

Sam gave Josie a thoughtful look. "Yeah, it may have." Bouncing her slightly with his knee he asked. "What would you think about my bringing my _**Star Trek**_ memorabilia and a few other of my sentimental keepsakes out of storage?"

Josie shrugged slightly. "They're _your_ keepsakes. You should be able to do whatever you want with them."

"But do you think that _you'd_ be able to live in an apartment with a variety of _**Star Trek**_memorabilia scattered throughout it?" He asked seriously, watching her reaction carefully.

"As long as it's tastefully scattered." She told him honestly. "And not overdone so as to look gaudy."

"Well than, how about I let you do the scattering." He commented eagerly, giving her a warm smile. "That way it will be tastefully done to your liking."

"How about we do it together." She suggested with a smile. "That way it'll be tastefully done to _both_ our liking."

Sam's smile broadened at her suggestion. "I'd like that." Leaning forward he gave her a tender kiss on the lips. Pulling away slightly he whispered softly, his eyes full of love. "Thank you."

"For what?" She asked in surprise as he reached up to caress her face.

"For being you." He told her simply, his thumb stroking her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She whispered back and leaned in for another kiss.

Jonathan and Joanna watched the kissing couple for several moments before looking at each other and smiling with obvious delight, their hearts full of happiness for their friend and his new love.


	10. Chapter 10

"Well, you're looking pretty chipper this afternoon." Josie commented to Anita the following Sunday as she entered her friend's hospital room, a large box of chocolates in her hand. "Meet some cute doctor that asked you to run away with him?"

"No!" Anita exclaimed in mock indignation. "I'm not looking anymore. I'm already taken!" Josie smiled slightly at her best friend's comment. She was still finding it hard to believe that her spunky, outgoing best friend and their gruff, usually caustic sounding boss were actually dating and in love. The two of them seemed _so _different. But it wasn't hard to see that there was some kind of deep connection there. And it seemed to be growing and strengthening by the day. "The reason I'm so happy is that I get to go home tomorrow."

"That's wonderful!" Josie acknowledged eagerly as she sat down on the edge of Anita's bed. "I'm sure you'll be glad to get out of here."

"You'd better believe it!" The patient replied earnestly. "I swear too many more hospital meals and I was seriously considering becoming an anorexic."

"Not a good idea." Josie commented with a smile. "I don't think Gus would like to see you shrink away to nothing. Besides, if you were anorexic you couldn't enjoy these chocolates." She waved the box she held under her friend's nose temptingly.

"Give me those!" Anita grabbed the box from the other girl's hand and quickly tore off the cellophane. Opening the lid she inhaled deeply and sighed. "This is heaven!" Taking one of the delectable sweets out of the box she offered one to Josie. Josie accepted and bit into the treat.

Closing her eyes she to sighed in delight and said. "This _is_ heaven!"

Anita chuckled and then asked curiously. "So where's that guy of yours today? I thought you two were virtually joined at the hip now."

"We basically have been." Josie admitted with a blush. "But today he's correcting exam papers."

"Oh, lucky him." Her friend grinned slightly. That sounds like such a _fun_ chore! I'm _so_ glad that I'm not a school teacher."

"Normally Sam loves it." Josie told her honestly. "He says he gets a certain sense of satisfaction from seeing how much he's taught them over the semester."

A mischievous smirk tugged at Anita's lips. "_Normally_ he enjoys it? He's not enjoying it this time?"

Josie flushed slightly as she replied. "He said that right now he doesn't enjoy _anything_ that keeps him from spending time with me."

"That boy's got it bad!" Anita commented with a chuckle. Then with a decided nod she added. "I'll bet you fifty bucks that he proposes to you before summer's over."

"I'm not going to take that bet." Josie told her seriously.

"Why not?" Her friend gave her a curious look.

The younger woman smiled widely and admitted. "Because I seriously hope you're right."

"I can almost guarantee it." The older woman assured her confidently. Then remembering something she asked. "Did you get ahold of that guy that responded to your ad?"

"Yes I did." Josie nodded her head in confirmation. "He does have an autographed Gordie Howe helmet, but not the one that I'm looking for."

Anita frowned slightly and prompted. "What one are you looking for?"

"Sam's." Josie told her simply.

Anita looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. "How on earth do you expect to find Sam's helmet?"

"Joanna told me that when get first got it he put his name on the inside lining of the helmet so that no one would steal it on him." Josie related. "I know it's a long shot, but I'm hoping it'll still be out there somewhere."

"And if I'm not mistaken, doing something like that greatly diminishes the value of such an item." Anita commented eagerly. "So its entirely possible that whoever bought it could still have it." Then frowning slightly she said. "But I thought you said that his old girlfriend _tossed it _out."

"That's what she told Sam." Josie acknowledged with a nod as she reached for another chocolate from the box that now rested on Anita's lap. After taking a bite she added. "But the more I find out about her, the more I'm convinced that she sold it and kept the money."

"She's a real winner that one, isn't she?" Anita remarked sarcastically.

"I'm getting that impression." Josie nodded.

"Well, once they release me from this sterile prison I'll be more tan happy to help you search for it." Her friend volunteered. "Especially since Gus has told me I'm not to set foot in the office for at least the rest of the month."

"I'd appreciate the help." Josie gave her best friend a bright smile. Reaching over she gave the other woman's hand a gentle squeeze. "I can't tell you how glad I am that you're okay. I was so scared that I'd lost you when Gus called to tell us you'd been hurt."

Anita gave her a warm smile and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I'm afraid you're not getting rid of me that easily."

"So, where are you staying after they release you?" The younger woman asked curiously.

"Home." Anita replied, mildly surprised by the question. "Where else would I go?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you should stay by yourself." Josie commented with obvious concern. "I mean, are you sure you'll be okay living on your own?"

"I'll be fine." Anita assured her honestly, though very touched by her friend's concern.

"You know, you're more than welcome to stay with me for a few weeks." The younger woman told her eagerly. "At least until your ribs heal and that cast comes off."

Anita hesitated for a moment, seriously considering the offer. "I don't want to be in the way."

"You won't be in the way." Her best friend assured her honestly. "And you're more than welcome." Seeing her friend's uncertainty she pressed. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

A slow smile spread across the other woman's face. "All right, I accept!"

"Wonderful!" Josie exclaimed in honest delight, looking forward to having her friend nearby for a while. Before either woman could say anything more a nurse came in and interrupted their conversation.

"And how are we today?" The white clad woman asked Anita pleasantly, totally oblivious to the wide eyed stare that Josie was giving her.

"Better." Anita told her eagerly.

"I hear you're getting out of here tomorrow." The nurse commented as she pulled out a thermometer and put it in Anita's mouth.

Anita nodded and managed to say around the object in her mouth. "Finally."

"I bet your husband will be glad to see you get out." The other woman commented a few moments later when she removed the thermometer. "Those chairs are not the most comfortable to sleep in." She indicated the hard backed, wooden armed chair beside her.

Anita flushed slightly which caused Josie to smile in amusement. "He's not my husband."

"At least not yet." Josie teased, giving Anita a mischievous grin.

It was then that the nurse finally focused on the blond woman seated on the edge of her patient's bed. "Josie?" She exclaimed in delighted surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting Anita." Josie replied simply.

Anita looked from one to the other, a surprised look on her face. "You two know each other?"

Josie nodded. "Sheila and I were best friends in High School."

"Really?" The dark haired woman exclaimed in amazement.

"We kind of lost contact after we graduated though." Sheila remarked. "I went to NYU and Josie went to Northwestern."

"And she became a nurse and I became a copy editor." Josie added with a smile.

"Now you're a columnist." Anita reminded her proudly. "A weekly columnist, or so I hear."

Josie smiled and nodded. "Gus and Rigfort had a meeting with me on Monday and officially confirmed what you told me Friday. I now have a weekly column in Friday's paper."

"That's wonderful!" Sheila exclaimed in obvious delight. "Now I'm going to have to make sure I buy every Friday issue of the Chicago Sun-Times."

Josie gave her old friend a pleased smile then remarked. "I didn't know you worked here at Mercy."

"Both Derek and I do." Sheila told her as she checked Anita's blood pressure. "Though he's home with Sarah right now. He's doing 'Daddy duty' today." Then curiously she asked. "Where's Sam?"

"He's doing 'teacher duty'." Josie replied with a laugh. At Sheila's puzzled look she explained. "He's an English teacher at South Glen South High School. He's home correcting exams right now."

Sheila grinned slightly. "It's kind of ironic that you're dating an English teacher. English was always your best subject." Looking at Anita she said. "I swear she knew Shakespeare's _As You Like It_ by heart by the end of our Senior year."

"Which came if very handy when I started attending Sam's class." Josie commented with a smile.

Sheila frowned in puzzlement and asked. "What do you mean?"

Before Josie could reply there was a soft tap on Anita's room door. The three women looked up to see two men standing in the doorway. Josie immediately recognized them as the police officers who had come to speak to Gus the night Anita was injured.

"May I help you?" Anita asked, wondering who these two good-looking men were.

"Ms. Brandt?" The blond haired man asked as he smiled at Anita.

"That would be me." She confirmed and waved them inside. They both did as bidden.

"I'm Detective Ray Kowalski of the Chicago Police Department and this is my partner Constable Benton Fraser of the RCMP." The blond introduced. "We're the officers investigating your hit and run last weekend."

Anita nodded her head. "Yes, Gus mentioned that he'd spoken to you. What can I do for you?"

"Nothing, ma'am." Detective Kowalski told her honestly. "We just wanted to stop by and let you know that we've apprehended the driver responsible for the incident."

"Who was it, Detective?" Josie asked curiously, glancing at Anita out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm afraid we can't release his name as he's a minor." The American officer replied, pulling out his notepad. "But what I can tell you is that he and his buddies were out for a joyride in a stolen car when they ran through the crosswalk. The driver was only fifteen."

"Fifteen?" Anita exclaimed in surprise. "I thought the driving age around here was sixteen."

"Yes, it is ma'am." Constable Fraser confirmed. "He was not a legal driver."

"Don't worry, he'll be dealt with accordingly." Kowalski promised her as he returned his notebook to his jacket pocket. "We just wanted to let you know that the case has been solved."

"I appreciate that Detective." Anita acknowledged with a smile.

The blond detective paused for a second before nodding and saying. "Right then. Let's go, Frase." He turned on his heals and left the room.

The dark haired Constable gave the three women an apologetic smile. "Please excuse Ray." He asked earnestly. "He's not very comfortable in hospitals."

"Fraser!" The impatient voice of his partner drifted back inside. "Before I die of waiting!"

The Canadian pasted a tolerant smile on his face and nodded at the three ladies. "Excuse me. Have a good day." A few moments later he too had disappeared out the door.

The two women listened until the partner's conversation died to silence. "You know I hate these places, Fraser!" The blond was saying in annoyance. "Why do you have to prolong our stay by being polite? I don't care if they think I'm curt. I'm a police officer, they don't have to think I'm nice and loveable like you."

"I'm sure they don't, Ray." The other man assured his part.

"Good." The blond exclaimed. "Now let's get out of here. I have a lead on..."

Anita looked from Josie to Sheila and back again. "Gus told me they were an interesting pair, but that's _definitely_ an understatement."

"What's a Canadian Mountie doing working with a Chicago cop anyway?" Sheila asked curiously.

"Apparently Constable Fraser came from Canada to Chicago on the trail of the killers of his father and then ended up staying here." Josie told her. "He's working at the Canadian Consulate here in Chicago right now and that gives him some connection with the Chicago Police Department."

"You know, there may be an interesting story in those two." Anita commented with a mischievous smile at Josie. "Maybe you should interview them for your column."

"Hey, you never know." Josie smiled back. "Maybe I will."

Just then the telephone on Anita's night stand rang. Gingerly reaching for it Anita warmly greeted her caller. "Good afternoon, Sweetheart." A soft chuckle on the other end caused her to frown slightly. "Gus?"

"Nope, Rob." The person on the other end corrected. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"It's okay." Anita replied, heaving a dramatic sigh. "I'll get over it. Just a sec." Handing the receiver to Josie she said with a smile. "It's yours."

Josie grinned and put the receiver to her ear. Winking at Anita and Sheila she greeted the man on the other end with a warm. "Hello sweetheart."

"Ugh, not you too!" Rob complained with exaggerated disgust. "Let me guess, you thought it was Sam."

"Obviously." Josie rolled her eyes slightly and gave her friend, who was trying desperately to stifle her laughter, a mock annoyed look. "I don't usually go around calling my brother 'sweetheart'. What's up?"

"I need your help." He told her seriously.

"That's nothing new." She commented wickedly. "You always need my help."

"Let's not forget who was helping who these past few months? Huh?" Rob prodded with a bit of a cool tone in his voice.

"Whom." Josie corrected. "Who was helping _whom_."

"Josie, this is serious." Her brother interrupted, his irritation starting to show.

"What do you need my help with?" His older sister prompted patiently.

"I asked Aldys to got out with me tonight." Rob told her seriously. "Like on a real date."

"Rob, that's wonderful!" Josie exclaimed delightedly. "She's a terrific girl."

"I know." He agreed eagerly. "And I want to take her someplace _really_ nice. Do you have any suggestions?"

"How about _Luigi's_." Josie replied thoughtfully. "Sam took me there last week for our first date. Everything was wonderful."

"_Luigi's_?" Rob repeated searching his memory for the place. "Never heard of it. Where is it?"

"It's a little hole-in-the-wall place down by the waterfront." Josie described. "It's only a few blocks from Navy Pier. It's run by a wonderful Italian couple that Sam knows quite well. He use to tutor the husband in English a few years ago."

"And you say this place is good?" Rob pressed cautiously.

"Wonderful!" His sister assured him. "Trust me. Aldys will love it."

"_Luigi's_." Rob repeated once again. "Thanks, Jos. I'll give it a try."

"Sam'll be able to give you the exact address." Josie told him. "He's at home if you want to call him."

"I know." Her brother admitted. "That how I knew you were at the hospital. By the way, how's Anita doing?"

"Much better." Josie assured him. "They're releasing her tomorrow. She's going to come and stay with me for a few weeks."

"Make sure you warn her to stay away from those turtles." Rob remarked. "Those two are nasty."

"Only to you." His sister commented. "To me they're as sweet as kittens."

"Uh, huh." The young man acknowledged. "Listen, before I go put Anita back on, will ya?"

"Okay, I'll talk to you later." Handing the receiver back to Anita she said. "Rob wants to talk to you again."

Taking the receiver Anita greeted warmly. "Hello, Rob."

A loud kissing noise greeted her ear. "Love you, sweetheart." He told her with a sly laugh.

"You nut!" Anita exclaimed, laughing in amusement. "You'd better behave or I'm going to tell Gus on you."

"Just as long as you don't tell Aldys." Rob told her, then quickly he added. "Speaking of her, I gotta go. Talk to you later." Before Anita could respond he was gone.

"What was that all about?" She asked as she stared at the receiver momentarily before replacing it in its cradle.

"It think he has a big date tonight." Josie remarked with a smile.

"Who has a big date tonight?" A male voice inquired curiously.

Josie looked up at the curly-haired man standing in the doorway of Anita's room, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "Rob." She told him as she approached Anita's bed. "He has a date with Aldys."

"Aldys?" Anita repeated in surprise. "Really?"

At Josie's confirming nod she smiled and said. "I think they'll be good for each other. Just like you and Sam are good for each other."

"And you and Gus." Josie added, giving the couple a warm smile.

Anita smiled up at Gus and reached out to touch his arm. "Yes we are good for each other."

Gus gave her a tender look and leaned down to kiss her softly. As Gus pulled away he whispered gently. "I love you."

"I love you too." She returned, caressing his cheek with her hand.

"Well, if you'll excuse me." Sheila suddenly said. "It's time for my lunch break."

"Just a minute, Sheila." Josie exclaimed as she jumped off the edge of the bed. "I'll come with you." Looking at Anita she asked. "Do you need me to pick you up tomorrow?"

Anita looked at Gus for a moment then shook her head. "Gus is going to take me out for a proper lunch tomorrow after they release me."

"Well, I guess I won't stand in the way of that." Josie teased, shooting the couple a teasing look. Reaching into her purse she pulled out her spare key. "Here's the key. Just make yourself at home whenever you get there. The spare room is all yours."

At Gus' curious look Anita told him. "Josie's invited me to stay with her for a few weeks until I've healed a bit more."

"Good." Gus commented with a grateful look at his newest columnist. "I was worried about you staying at home by yourself."

"So, I guess I'll see you after work." Josie commented to her best friend.

Anita gave her a warm smile. "Thanks for everything, Josie. I really appreciate it."

"What are friends for?" Josie told her humbly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Josie." Gus and Anita both called after her.

As the door closed behind her Anita looked at Gus and said. "Alone at last."

"Finally." He whispered before kissing her again.

"So, tell me about this boyfriend of yours." Sheila prodded eagerly as she and Josie sat together in the hospital cafeteria.

"What's there to tell?" Josie asked evasively as she took a sip of her apple juice. "His name is Sam Coulson and he's an English teacher at South Glen South."

"Oh, come on!" Sheila protested seriously. "You _have_ to give me more than that! Where did you two meet? _How_ did you meet? When did you start dating? Do you think the two of you will ever get married?"

Josie laughed at the barrage of questions tumbling out of her friend's mouth. "Slow down there, girl. One question at a time." When Sheila opened her mouth again Josie held up her hand and said. "I get the picture. You want to know _everything_!" When her old friend nodded eagerly Josie began her tale. She began with her job as a Copy Editor at the Sun-Times, telling her how she longed to be a reporter so she could write her own stuff and not just edit the work of others. She continued on to describe her experience at South Glen South and how she'd been haunted by the same fears and insecurities she'd been plagued with her first time through school.

"Things changed quite a bit after Rob decided to enroll and give me a hand." Josie told Sheila truthfully. "You remember what he was like in High School. Always 'Mr. Popular'."

"I remember." Her friend acknowledged with a smile. "I even remember _how_ he gained his popularity. I can't believe he lived after eating a whole bucket of that awful school-issue coleslaw!"

"Hey don't knock that trick." Josie commented with a laugh. "That's what made him popular at South Glen South too."

"You're kidding?" Sheila laughed in amazement. "I always thought your brother was a little on the crazy side."

"Oh, he is." Rob's sister quickly confirmed. "But that's part of his charm."

"So, what was it like to be popular in High School?" The other woman asked curiously. "Was it everything you'd hoped?"

Josie gave her friend a wry smile and admitted honestly. "Not really. It wasn't what I expected it to be like actually. I don't know if its just that my expectations were too great, or if I had just out grown the need to be popular. I don't know. All I know is that it was a bit of a let down."

"I found the same thing in college." Sheila confessed as she took a drink from her Diet Coke. "When Derek and I started going out I was officially initiated into the 'popular' crowd. At first I was thrilled to be so accepted, but after a while I realized that it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. As the years past and our friends graduated we soon found that our little group was down to just Derek and I. But that suited us just fine actually. We were newlyweds and we just wanted to spend any spare moment we could alone." Looking at Josie she flashed her a bright smile and asked. "Speaking of marriage, do you think you and Sam will get married?"

Josie blushed slightly as she admitted. "We have talked about it. Anita figures he'll propose before the end of summer."

"Well, after seeing the two of you the other night at the carnival I think I can safely say that I agree." Sheila told her seriously. "It's perfectly clear to anyone who sees you two together that he's absolutely head over heels for you!"

"I love him too." Josie admitted honestly. "I love him very much."

"Then if I were you I would tell him everything that happened in High School our Senior year." Her friend told her gravely. "It would be good for you to get it out in the open. It'll help the rest of your scars to heal." Putting a gentle hand on Josie's arm she pleaded softly. "Please don't let Billy Prince ruin your life."

It was about six o'clock by the time Josie got back to Sam's apartment. Opening the door with the key he'd given her, her nose was hit by the smell of roasting chicken. It wasn't until then that she realized just how hungry she was. Stepping quietly into the living room Josie silently shut the door behind herself, knowing that any noise she made would be completely drowned out by the music that was playing on the stereo. Setting her purse and her keys on the coffee table she made her way to the kitchen, careful not to alert Sam to her presence. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him putter around the small room stirring pots and lifting lids to check on what he was cooking.

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket. Never let it fade away!" Josie had to bite her lips and cover her mouth with her hands to keep from laughing as Sam continued to sing along with the stereo, totally oblivious to her watching him. Josie was enjoying the show immensely, though her lips were getting sore from having to bite them so hard to keep control on her amusement. She finally lost her battle when Sam picked up an unpeeled carrot that was sitting on the counter and started using it as a microphone, singing the chorus of the song in various tones and octaves in imitation of the original recording.

When he heard Josie's hearty laughter Sam whipped around and looked at her in embarrassment, a slight blush staining his cheeks. But after a moment's hesitation he threw himself into his rendition causing Josie to start laughing even harder. As the last few notes of the song died away Sam bowed dramatically before her causing her to let out another boisterous laugh.

"You're a nut, you know that." Josie exclaimed as she threw her arms around his neck and looked into his twinkling eyes. "I'm in love with a complete nutcase."

"As long as you love me, baby." He commented and gave her a welcoming kiss. Pulling away slightly he started singing along with the ballad that was currently playing. "Baby I believe in you. And every little thing you do."

"Oh, my goodness." Josie exclaimed in disbelief. "I haven't heard that song since Junior High school." Giving him a surprised look she asked. "Don't tell me you were a New Kids on the Block fan too?"

"You were a New Kids on the Block fan?" Sam asked with a smile.

"I was _in love_ with Joey-Joe MacIntyre!" She told him with a laugh. "Sheila loved Jordan Knight."

"Well, I didn't love _them_." He told her with a chuckle. "But I did like some of their songs. Not that I ever told anybody. I think Jon's the only one that knew I was a closet New Kids fan."

"Well, I guess we all have some skeletons in our closet." Josie teased lightly as she started swaying slightly to the music.

Easing his grip on her he lifted his left hand to take her right off his shoulder. "Dance with me." He softly urged.

Josie chuckled and looked at the carrot that he still held in his left hand. "What about your microphone?" Sam looked at it, took a big bite off the end and then tossed it over his shoulder and into the sink. She couldn't help but laugh as he pulled her closer to him, capturing her right hand in his left.

"Baby, I _do_ believe in you." He told her sincerely. "You can do _anything_ you put your mind to."

Josie gave him a warm smile. "My, you certainly are in a good mood this evening."

"Why shouldn't I be?" He remarked as he slowly danced them around the small kitchen. "I'm happy, I'm healthy and I am holding the woman of my dreams in my arms. The woman that I am head over heels in love with and who is the most amazing person I have ever met. And what makes me especially joyful is that _she's_ in love with _me_ too." Leaning down to kiss her softly he whispered. "I couldn't be happier." He captured her lips with his, pulling her tighter to him. Josie responded eagerly to his kisses, relishing the feeling of being in his arms. She loved nothing more than being held by him, being loved by him. She couldn't help but hope that this feeling would last forever.

Sam pulled back slightly and whispered mischievously. "I wonder if Rob and Aldys are having this much fun."

"I hope they don't have _too_ much fun." Josie commented. "Aldys isn't eighteen yet."

"Don't worry." He told her confidently. "Rob promised to be a perfect gentleman." His eyes twinkled slightly as he added. "And I'm sure Maria and Luigi will be keeping a _special_ eye on them tonight."

"You called them?" Josie exclaimed with a laugh. Then with a knowing smirk she stated. "You called Maria and told her that it was their first date." When Sam nodded slightly she shook her head and chuckled. "Well, I'm _sure_ Rob and Aldys will get _special_ attention then."

"Hey, they deserve it." He commented seriously. "They make a cute couple."

"They do." She agreed eagerly. "Hey, I'd love to have Aldys as a sister-in-law."

"So would I." Sam remarked, giving her a look of deep love. Josie smiled and leaned up to kiss him again, slipping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Sam eagerly responded by pulling her closer to him, wrapping his fingers in her blond curls. The sound of the phone ringing interrupted their kiss.

Sam groaned in annoyance against her lips. "Whoever that is has a lousy sense of timing." Sam complained as he ended the kiss and released her to answer the phone. "Hello?" He greeted as he picked up the phone beside his recliner.

"Hi sweetheart!" A female voice exclaimed warmly on the other end of the line.

"Hi Mom." Sam grinned happily as he settled into his favorite chair. Josie stayed in the kitchen and checked the boiling pots on the stove.

"How's everything going with you?" His mother asked curiously.

"Good." Her oldest son assured her sincerely. "Keeping busy. It was the first week of exams this week."

"Ah, so that's why you couldn't return your mother's phone call and let her know that you were still alive." Sarah Coulson teased her son lightly, laughing when he stumbled to explain.

"I was busy with exams and then Josie and I were at the hospital every night..."

"The hospital?" His mother exclaimed in alarm. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine." He quickly assured her. "It was Josie's best friend, Anita. She was the victim of a hit and run last Friday night."

"Poor girl." Sarah said sympathetically. "Is she all right?"

"Yeah, she's doing fine." He replied, glancing at Josie who was now standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "I didn't see her today, but Josie did." Addressing his girlfriend he asked. "How's Anita doing today?"

"She doing fine." Josie told him. "They're releasing her tomorrow. She's going to be staying with me for the next couple weeks."

"Really?" He gave her a surprised look then returned to his caller. "Josie says that Anita's doing fine and the hospital's releasing her tomorrow."

"Was she injured very badly?" Sarah asked curiously.

"She had three broken ribs and a badly fractured leg." Sam listed. "She was lucky it wasn't a lot worse. I guess she's going to be staying with Josie for a few weeks until she gets back on her feet again."

"Josie, eh?" His mother repeated with a broad smile. "I take it that she's the new girlfriend that your sister called me all excited about a couple of weeks ago."

"Must be." Sam acknowledged with a chuckle. Giving Josie a sly wink he added. "I only have one."

"What's she like?" The older woman pressed eagerly, curious about this new woman in Sam's life. "What does she do? Where's she from?"

Sam laughed and held out his hand towards the girl in question. Josie stepped towards him and accepted the hand he held out. Pulling her onto his knee he wrapped his arm around her as he started describing her to his mother. "Let me see now." He ran his eyes slowly over her face. "She has beautiful blue eyes, silky blond hair, satiny peaches and cream skin, rosy red lips and cute little ears."

"Sam!" Josie laughed and flushed as he traced a finger over each feature as he listed it. When she tried to move he held her tightly in place.

Removing the phone from where he'd tucked it between his ear and his shoulder he continued his description of the woman in his arms. "She's also very sweet and modest and funny and smart. She is basically the most amazing woman I have ever met."

"Nice adjectives." His mother commented with a chuckle. "It's not hard to tell what you do for a living."

"Josie's good with adjectives too." Sam remarked, giving his girlfriend a mischievous wink.

"And what does she do for a living?" Sarah pressed inquisitively. "She's the newest columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times." Sam told her proudly. "And she is a fantastic writer."

"So when do I get to meet this goddess?" His mother teased eagerly.

Sam looked at Josie again and grinned. "Well, I think I have her convinced to come to Wisconsin with me next month for the long weekend."

"That's wonderful!" Sarah exclaimed delightedly. "Abby, Bill and Emma are flying in too. We'll have a real family reunion."

"We're looking forward to it." Sam assured her earnestly. Then a trifle regretfully he said. "I should go. Josie's here right now and I'm attempting to show off my culinary skills."

"Oh?" Sarah's eyebrows raised slightly. "What are you making."

"Roast chicken with all the trimming." He told her proudly.

"Well then I'll let you go." She told him eagerly. "I wouldn't want to see all that food spoiled because I kept you on the phone."

"That's okay." Her son told her earnestly. "Now I have an excuse if something doesn't turn out. I can just say that my mother distracted me."

Sarah grinned knowingly. "I bet I'm not the only thing distracting you tonight."

Sam looked at Josie and smiled. "Nope, but you have to admit that she's the best of all possible distractions."

"I'll have to wait until I meet her to let you know." His mother commented with a laugh. "See you in a few weeks."

"See you then." He promised sincerely.

"Love you, honey." She told him warmly. "And Sam."

"Yes, mom?" He asked curiously.

"It's so nice to hear you laughing and happy again." She commented. "If it's because of Josie then I'd say she's the one for you."

Sam looked lovingly at Josie and once again tucked the phone into his shoulder so he could reach out and touch her face. Josie closed her eyes and pressed her cheek into his palm. "She is, Mom. She's just perfect for me."

"I'm happy to hear that, honey." Sarah acknowledged with a warm feeling in her heart already for this Josie girl. "Take care."

"We will." He assured her. "Love you."

"Love you too." She repeated. "Say 'hi' to that amazing girl of yours."

"I will." He promised. "And you say 'hi' to Dad and Russ."

"Will do." She acknowledged. "I'll talk to you soon."

As Sam hung up the phone Josie asked curiously. "So how are your folks?"

"They're fine." He told her. "Eager to meet you."

"Really?" Her eyes widened nervously as she asked. "Do you think they'll like me?"

"They are going to love you." He confirmed truthfully as he looked deep into her eyes. "They are going to love you if for no other reason because you make me very, _very_ happy."

Josie felt her heart melt slightly at the intense look of love in his eyes. "I love you, Sam." She whispered gently.

"I love you too." He returned before leaning forward and capturing her lips with his. Josie wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. The couple were soon lost in their kiss, their supper temporarily forgotten.

Sam glanced over at the sleeping figure slumped in the passenger seat beside him and smiled softly to himself. He still found it hard to believe that he and Josie were really a couple. It seemed like it wasn't all that long ago that he was wishing that there was someway that he could tell Josie how he felt about her, yet in other ways it felt as if he and Josie had been together forever. They complimented each other so well that it was hard for him to imagine a time when she wasn't an important part of his life. It had been five weeks since Josie had first told him the truth about herself. Five glorious weeks of being her boyfriend. The experience had been everything that Sam had hoped for and so much more.  
The day after their first date they had spent the afternoon on the ballfield practicing with the Sun-Times team. He had been very impressed by Josie's skill as a catcher. She certainly was very determined and aggressive when it came to fulfilling her assigned position. Anita had been right though when she said that Josie needed help with her batting. But Sam had soon done what he could to rectify that taking time to give Josie some personal batting lessons. Though he's still not sure just how much tutoring was actually done. He had the suspicious feeling that Josie was holding back a bit on purpose, evening releasing the bat 'accidentally' and sending it flying into the air. Not that he really minded the charade. In fact he welcomed any excuse he could get to put his arms around her. Not that he needed any excuses. She was always quite willing to receive a hug or a kiss from him when he felt like giving her one. Which was pretty much all the time that he was with her.  
Smiling again he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket to make sure that the blue velvet box that he'd put in there earlier was still there. He'd picked it up that afternoon while he was killing time waiting for Josie to finish up at work. Now that school was out for the summer, his days were pretty much his own. Patting the box against his chest he silently hoped that Josie liked what he picked out. He didn't have much experience picking out jewlery. When he was dating Lara she would always tell Sam exactly what she wanted and insist that he buy it for her. Willing to do pretty much anything to keep the peace and make her happy, Sam usually went along with whatever request she made. Even when it meant scrimping and saving for six months or more to pay off whatever it was she'd chosen. Not only did such purchases put a strain on his pocketbook, they also created a level of resentment within him. But no matter how much he made up his mind not to let it happen again, it invariably did and usually a month or two after he'd paid off Lara's previous purchase he found himself paying for something else.  
Once he'd tried to stand up to her and suggested that she chose something else less expensive, but that only resulted in another one of her many lectures on how he should move to New York and get a professor position at a University there. That way he wouldn't have to worry about the cost of things. This lecture had occurred right in the middle of the jewelry store and Sam, mortified beyond words, had walked right out of the shop vowing to himself never to shop there again not to ever open his mouth about any of Lara's future purchases.  
Glancing over a Josie's sleeping form he smiled softly to himself. He knew for a certainty that Josie would never do that to him. He was confident that she would be content with whatever little thing that he got her, even if it didn't cost a small fortune.  
"After all, it's the thought that counts." He commented softly to himself as he turned his attention back to the road. "Not how much something costs."  
"Did you say something?" Josie's sleepy voice interrupted his thoughts.  
Sam looked at he again and smiled at her drowsy look. Reaching over he found her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Nothing, just talking to myself."  
"Better be careful." She warned teasingly. "You do that too much and somebody might lock you up in a padded cell."  
Sam chuckled slightly and gave her hand another squeeze before releasing it. "I'll try to remember that."  
Stretching her arms over her head Josie let out a wide yawn. "Are we almost there yet?"  
Sam grinned at her in amusement. "Almost." He assured her. "We've got about another half hour."  
"What time is it?" She asked, rubbing her eyes as she tried to get them to focus.  
"A little after eleven." He told her, returning his eyes to the road. "You need anything?"  
"No, I'm alright." She assured him, sinking her head deeper into the pillow she had resting against her side window and brought the blanket that covered her tighter around her shoulders.  
Her companion smiled as she drifted back to sleep. "I love you, Josie Geller." A muffled murmur came from his semi-conscious girlfriend that he was sure was suppose to be an 'I love you too'.

It was about quarter to twelve when Sam pulled his black Jetta to a stop in front of his parents ranch-style Wisconsin home. The outside light and almost every inside light were on as his family eagerly awaited their late night arrival. Turning off the ignition Sam reached over and gently shook his girlfriend's shoulder. "Josie, we're here. It's time to wake up." When Josie didn't stir he shook her a little harder. "Honey, come on, please wake up. We're here. My family's waiting to meet you." Josie, despite his efforts, showed no sign of moving. Sam couldn't help but smile slightly and shake his head. Rob had once told him that when Josie was in a sound sleep, nothing short of a nuclear explosion could wake her up until she was good and ready to wake up. Sam had figured that the younger man had been exaggerating, thinking that no one could sleep so deeply that they wouldn't wake up with a little prompting, but he was beginning to see what the other man had been talking about.  
"Ever hear about the guy that slept through the sinking of the Titanic?" Rob had asked him seriously.  
Sam had shaken his head and replied. "No."  
"I forget his name. Charles something, I think." Rob had said thoughtfully. "But it doesn't matter. The point is, he was known for being a sound sleeper. He was a first class passenger and nobody that survived could remember seeing him on deck the night of the sinking. They figured afterwards that he must have slept right through it. And I can tell you that if Josie was on that ship, she would have gone down with it too."  
Sam had shuddered at the thought, suddenly realizing what danger she'd be in if a fire or some other emergency situation broke out in her apartment while she was sleeping. The realization made Sam even more impatient to marry her. That way he'd be able to carry her to safety if something did ever happen during the night.  
After trying one more time to rouse her Sam decided to unload the car and give Josie a chance to wake up on her own. Getting out of the car he bounded up the walkway that led to the front door of his parent's home. His knock was answered less than a minute later by a very pretty young woman with shoulder length blond hair and sparkling blue eyes.  
Upon seeing who was at the door she immediately threw her arms excitedly around Sam's neck and hugged him tightly. "Sammy! You're here!" She exclaimed eagerly. "Oh, we've been waiting for you for hours!" Tugging on his arms she pulled him inside encouraging. "Come in out of the cool air. How was your trip?"  
"The trip was fine." Sam replied with an amused look on his face as his parents came into the foyer. "We weren't able to get out of the city until almost six, then we stopped for a quick bit about eight."  
"It's good to see you, sweetheart!" Sarah Coulson exclaimed with obvious delight as she hugged her middle child to her.  
"It's good to see you too, Mom." Sam returned her hug warmly.  
Pulling back slightly so she could see her son's face she added eagerly. "You look wonderful, Sam!"  
"Thanks, Mom." Sam smiled at her before turning his attention to his father.  
As the two men hugged his father said affectionately. "We've missed you, son." Then scolding slightly he added. "It's been quite a while since you've been up for a visit."  
"I know." Sam acknowledged a little sadly. "I'm really sorry about that. Things have been kind of crazy for the last little while, but they seem to be leveling out now." Then looking around curiously he asked. "Where's the others?"  
Abby grinned slightly and replied. "The three of them fell asleep watching Lady and the Tramp in the TV room. You should see them. Out like a light, the bunch of them."  
"Speaking of being out like a light." Sam commented, remembering his slumbering girlfriend who was still out in the car. "Josie's out in the car sound asleep."  
"Well, why don't you wake her and bring her in." His mother encouraged eagerly. "We've been dying to meet this new girlfriend of yours."  
"I'm eager for you to meet her too." He assured them all. "Problem is that she is a really sound sleeper and I can't seem to get her to wake up."  
"Is she okay?" Sarah asked her son with obvious concern.  
"Oh, she's fine." Sam hastened to reply. "Her brother told me that she's just a really sound sleeper. He said that when they were younger he use to go into her room and beat a wooden spoon on a pot a few inches away from her head and she wouldn't even flinch."  
"I hope there's never a fire in her apartment at night." Tim Coulson remarked seriously to his son. "She's probably sleep right through it."  
Sam grimaced slightly. "I know. That thought has already crossed my mind and scares me to death." Then reaching for the door he said in a lighter tone. "I'm going to go and get our bags. Hopefully Josie'll wake up by the time I'm finished."  
Unfortunately Sam's wish didn't come true, even though he'd been as noisy as he could about taking their bags out of the back of the Jetta. So, and about fifteen minutes later he entered his parents' house with a limp Josie in his arms.  
"Why don't you take her upstairs to the guest room." Sarah told her son softly as she took a quick peek at his sleeping charge, immediately noting how pretty the young woman was. Secretly her heart hoped that her beauty wasn't like Lara's, only skin deep. "Abby and Bill are in her old room and you can bunk with Russ in his room."  
"Sounds fine." Sam acknowledged as he started up the stairs, careful not to bump Josie's head or feet on the walls. Soon he had her lying down on the bed that his mother had already turned down. After removing her shoes and her jacket Sam pulled the covers up and tucked them around her. Leaning down he dropped a soft kiss on her lips. "Goodnight, my Sleeping Beauty." He watched her for another moment before shutting off the lamp beside her bed and leaving the room.  
"'night, Sam." Josie mumbled in her sleep as she turned on her side and settled into an even deeper sleep.

Josie stretched and yawned, carefully releasing all the kinks her body had acquired throughout the night. When she opened her eyes she immediately noticed that the sun was already beaming in her window, but it wasn't until a few moments later that her brain finally registered that she was in a strange room. Sitting up in her bed she curiously scanned the room for several moments, taking in every inch of her new quarters. The last thing she remembered about last night was falling asleep in Sam's car on the way to his parent's house in Wisconsin. She had no recollection of arriving there or of meeting any of Sam's family. She couldn't have slept through it all, could she? She knew that she had the reputation of being a sound sleeper. Rob often teased her that she'd have slept through the Titanic sinking if she'd been on board, but she couldn't have fell that fast asleep on the last leg of their trip, could she? The last thing she remembered was asking Sam how much longer to his parents' house and he'd said about a half hour. Surely she hadn't slipped into one of her coma sleeps in that short a time! Especially after she'd been fighting it all the way there. The last thing she'd wanted to do was fall asleep and miss meeting Sam's family. But from what she could tell, that was exactly what she had done. What they must think of her! They probably think she was high or drugged out on something. What a wonderful first impression that probably made. And poor Sam having to try to explain her unconscious presence. He must have been mortified. She racked her brain to try to remember if she'd even told Sam about her tendency to become comatose at night. She'd better make sure he knew that was why she hadn't woken up, not for any other reason.  
Glancing at her watch she was surprised to find that it was only six o'clock. From the quietness of the house she suppose that nobody else was up yet. Deciding that it would be a good opportunity to check out the house and the grounds Josie quickly got out of bed and dressed. After making her bed and verifying that everything else was in its proper place she picked up her shoes and padded quietly out her door and down the stairs to the outside porch. She couldn't help but smile at the beautiful sight that greeted her eyes. Trees, large wide opened spaces, a crystal clear pond and a variety of barns and sheds littered the property. She smiled when she spotted the coral at the far end of the yard. It contained three beautiful Quarter horses. Josie loved horseback riding. When she was in Northwestern one of her girlfriend's parents ran a stable, so she got to go riding whenever she wanted. It was something that she really enjoyed doing and even missed on occasion. She and her friend would go almost every weekend and sometimes during the week if they had a chance.  
"Well, good morning, sleepy head." A voice said lightly bringing Josie's attention to the young man who was sitting on the porch swing at the far end of the verandah. He was dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, his feet bare and his hair slightly tousled. With the coffee cup clutched in his left hand he looked the very picture of relaxation. "I was wondering when you were going to rejoin the land of the living."  
"I hardly slept that long that you would be worrying about that." Josie laughed as she came and sat down beside him. "It's only six-thirty."  
"Yeah, but you were sure flaked out when we got here." He teased with an amused smile. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd been drugged or something."  
Seeing the mischievous twinkle in his eye she couldn't help but tease back. "Not unless you slipped something in my supper when I wasn't looking."  
Sam kissed the side of her head and slipped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm not in the habit of drugging my girlfriends. I don't really think its very good for the relationship. Besides, it takes all the fun out of doing things like this." Leaning forward he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Josie responded by sliding her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. The two were so engrossed in each other that they didn't realize that they were being watched by two sets of spying eyes.  
"So, what's this Josie like?" Sarah Coulson asked her daughter curiously as she continued to watch the kissing couple carefully.  
"I don't really know a lot about her." Abby admitted as she moved away from the window and poured herself a cup of coffee. "I've only talked to her once briefly, one time when I was trying to get a hold of Sam after he'd moved. He'd given me Josie's cell number to contact him if I needed to. She seemed very nice and friendly and I've made it a point to read her column each week. She seems to be a very talented writer. I know that Sam praises her talent to the skies."  
Sarah gave her daughter a wry smile. "Sam never said anything bad about Lara either. Not even when she had that big temper tantrum about him playing hockey and threw out his Gordie Howe helmet! You know how much trouble your father went to to get that helmet for your brother! And that .just tosses it like it was a piece of everyday junk!"  
"Well, I don't think that Josie's anything like that." Abby assured her angry mother seriously. "In face she and Sam are both playing baseball this summer with the Chicago Sun-Times team."  
"Really?" Her mother gave the other woman a surprised look. "Josie actually plays baseball?"  
"Apparently." Her daughter nodded. "And Sam says that she's pretty good. Apparently Josie's brother is a real baseball nut and he and Josie use to toss the ball around all the time when they were kids."  
Sarah was visibly impressed by this piece of news. "Maybe she's not another Lara." She commented thoughtfully to herself, her heart hoping beyond hope that that was the case. She was so sick of seeing her oldest son miserable and alone in a loveless relationship. She knew that Lara was no good for him from the very moment he'd brought her home to meet the family. She was too demanding, too controlling. But Sam was too easy going to stand up to her. Not that he didn't try, but Lara was forceful enough that she would 'put him in his place' without a moment's hesitation. She was obviously the one that called the shots in their relationship, and Sarah didn't think that was right. She was brought up believing that the man was the head of the family and that the woman should offer him the respect that headship demanded. Not that the man and the woman weren't equal partners. But just like anything else, if you have two captains or two leaders, nothing gets done right and you only have chaos. And from what she could tell, Sam and Lara's relationship was nothing but chaos with a capital 'C'.  
A high-pitched squeal from outside quickly caught her attention. Turning back to the window she couldn't help but laugh as she watched Sam running towards the pond with Josie flung unceremoniously over his left shoulder. Josie was hitting her fists against his back, pleading and screaming as he ran. Her protests, however, were hampered by her laughter. "What does that boy think he's doing?" As if replying to her question Sam suddenly tossed Josie into the pond before diving in after her. Josie came up spitting and sputtering as she wiped the pond water from her eyes. Sam came up behind her and suddenly she jumped. "Oh, oh." Sarah found herself holding her breath as she waited for Josie's reaction to Sam's little stunt. All Josie did was turn around to face Sam, before throwing herself at him, successfully pushing him under the water. She then proceeded to laugh heartily as he came up sputtering and spitting and wiping the water from his eyes.  
Abby chuckled as she watched the pair as they started splashing and carrying on in the water. "It's been a long time since I've seen Sam so happy and relaxed."  
"They do seem to interact well together, don't they?" Her mother commented as she watched them kiss each other again while still in the water.  
"I would say she's definitely not another Lara." Abby commented as the couple pulled away from each other. They watched curiously as Sam suddenly turned his back on Josie. "What.?" She didn't get to finish her question before Josie suddenly jumped on Sam's back, throwing her arms around his neck. Reaching his arms back Sam hoisted her up so she was perched piggy-back style on his back. He then waded out of the pond and back towards the house.  
"You know, Mom, I don't think we have to worry." Abby remarked seriously as she watched the laughing pair trudging back towards the house. "I would bet you anything that Josie is absolutely nothing like Lara!"

"You like horseback riding?" Sam asked curiously as he carried Josie up towards the house.  
"Is that what this is called?" She commented with a mischievous smirk. "I always thought it was 'piggy-back riding'."  
"You think you're cleaver do you?" He retorted as he jumped up and down a couple of times to jolt her. Josie squealed and laughed, clinging tighter to him. Sam's smile broadened at the sound of her laughter. It was a sound that he absolutely loved to hear and that he tried to encourage every chance he got. Lara wasn't a laugher. At least she didn't laugh at the same things that he did. And even when she did find something funny her laugh always sounded a bit forced. She never threw back her head and let out a boisterous, heartfelt laugh like Josie had just done. Sam hadn't realized before how much hearing someone else laugh could make you feel so good.  
When they reached the front porch Sam gently set her down on the wooden deck and then turned to face her. Tucking a wet strand of hair behind her ear he said softly. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"  
Josie slid her arms around his neck and smiled warmly at him. "Not in the last half hour."  
Sam slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer as he whispered. "I love you, Josie Geller."  
"I love you too." She told him sincerely before submitting to his kiss.  
As the couple pulled apart they heard the screen door open. "Are you two at it again?" A male voice asked with mock disgust. When the couple looked at him he added wickedly. "Every time I look outside this morning all I see is you two playing tonsil hockey!" Josie's face flushed beet red with embarrassment as she hid her face against Sam's chest as he glared angrily at the other man. The younger man just continued to give Sam a cheeky look, totally unconcerned about the death look he was getting. "I mean get a room or something, guys."  
"I heard that Russell Thomas Coulson!" A female voice called warningly from inside the house. A moment later the owner of the voice pushed open the screen door and stepped out onto the verandah. "You'd better watch that mouth of yours, young man or I'll be washing it out with soap. Your father and I didn't raise you without manners!" After giving Russell a light whack on the back of the head the woman turned her attention to Josie who was now watching the pair curiously, her head pressed comfortingly against Sam's chest as he held her securely in his arms. "Please excuse my son, Josie." The older woman told her kindly. "He tends to speak first and then think later."  
Josie giggled slightly when she caught the look Russ Coulson gave his mother behind her back. It was a look very similar to the one she'd seen her brother give their mother in similar situations. It was obviously a 'guy thing' to do. Turning her attention back to the older woman Josie gave her a warm smile and pushed herself slightly away from Sam. "It's okay, Mrs. Coulson. I have one at home just like him." At the woman's slightly puzzled look she hastened to explain. "My brother Rob's about the same age as Russ - and just as outspoken." She gave the young man a knowing look.  
"Yeah, but I don't think even Rob is as outspoken as Russ is." Sam teased, giving his brother a few good-natured jabs in the ribs. Russ smirked slightly and jabbed him back. Josie giggled again as she watched a sudden light-hearted free-for-all break out between the two men. They reminded her a lot of herself and Rob.  
"Will you two knock it off!" A younger woman exclaimed in mock exasperation as she joined them on the porch. "You two are like a couple of overgrown teenagers." Sam and Russ exchanged mischievous looks before wordlessly turning their assault on her. "Stop! Okay, stop! Please stop!" She pleaded as she laughed hard at their pokes and tickles.  
Sarah Coulson rolled her eyes in exaggerated amusement and commented to Josie. "You get those three together and all hell breaks loose!"  
Josie smiled and chuckled. "They do seem to be very adapt at this."  
Sarah nodded and smiled. "Oh, yeah. They've had lots of experience at this! They're always horsing around one way or another."  
"That's nice." Josie remarked as she continued to watch the laughing trio. Sam was now pulling a laughing Abby into a big bear hug, effectively soaking her with his wet clothes. His sister squealed and squirmed, trying hard to get out of her brother's tight grasp. After a few moments Sam let her go. Abby continued to laugh as she ran a hand futilely over her wet clothes.  
"I'll get you for this Samuel James Coulson!" She exclaimed, but the twinkle in her eyes belied her crisp words.  
Sam, breathless and laughing, returned to Josie's side and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her gently to him. "Honey, I'd like you to meet my illustrious family. This is Abby and Russ and our wonderful mother, Sarah. Everyone, this is my lovely and extremely talented girlfriend, Josie Geller."  
Running a hand through her damp and messy hair Josie commented. "I don't feel very lovely at the moment." Then realizing that she'd said the words out loud she blushed red with embarrassment.  
Sarah smiled slightly and assured her. "You look just fine, dear. And I'm glad we finally get to meet the woman that we've heard so much about over the last few weeks. Sam has told us so much about you that we feel like we've known you forever."  
"He's told me a lot about all of you too." She commented a little nervously. "Thank you for allowing me to come up for a visit. I've been looking forward to meeting you for weeks now."  
"We're happy to have you." Sarah assured her, liking the young woman more and more with every word out of her mouth. She did seem like a very sweet, kind-hearted girl and she could see why Sam was attracted to her. "Now, why don't you and Sam go upstairs and get cleaned up while Abby and I get breakfast ready?"  
"Waffles with real maple syrup?" Sam quizzed hopefully. "And sausages?"  
Sarah laughed knowingly. "I think we can arrange that."  
"I have first dibs on the shower!" Sam announced as he pulled away from Josie and headed for the front door.  
It only took Josie a moment to recover from her surprise before she was on his heels calling at his retreating form. "Whatever happened to 'ladies first', Coulson?"  
"Doesn't count when it comes to waffles and maple syrup." He told her cheekily as he began running up the stairs with her hot on his heels.  
"Don't you get that dirty pond water all over my clean house, Samuel Coulson!" His mother called after him.  
Sam paused on the stairs and grinned back at his mom who was peering at them through the screen door. "Yes, mother!"  
The older woman smirked slightly and admonished. "And you let that young lady of yours use the shower first or you won't be getting any waffles."  
"Yes, mom!" Sam acknowledged letting out a martyr's sigh. "The things I do for love." He grumbled with mock disgruntlement as he marched dejectedly up the rest of the stairs.  
"For the love of me or the love of waffles?" Josie asked him mischievously as she matched his speed.  
"Both." He complained as he gained the landing.  
"Rob always warned me never to get between a guy and his food. Especially if there's baseball involved." Josie commented teasingly to his back.  
"Rob's a wise man." Sam remarked as he paused on the landing and turned back to look at her.  
"Only when it comes to food and baseball." She replied with a laugh as she came to a stop on the last step before the landing.  
"His two greatest loves." Sam chuckled as he reached out and touched her cheek affectionately.  
"Three actually." She corrected and then explained when he gave her a quizzical look. "It goes baseball, food and baseball. In that order. Though maybe that'll change now that he and Aldys are an item."  
"It usually does." Sam told her, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Especially when the girl you find is the one you fall head over heels for." When Josie gave him a tender smile he added softly. "There's nothing in this world that means more to me than you."  
Josie gave him a warm look as he leaned down to punctuate his words with a kiss. When he pulled away she gave him a mischievous smile and asked. "So does this mean that I get to use the shower first?"  
Sam smirked at her and sighed. "I don't really have a choice do I? If I don't let you, I don't get any waffles. And I don't love anything more than I love you, I still love my waffles!" Josie laughed as he put his arm around her shoulder and prompted her to join him on the landing. Kissing the side of her head he asked curiously. "How long do you usually take to shower?" Josie's amused laugh echoed through the house as she slipped an arm around his waist and let him lead her down the hall towards their rooms.  
As the chuckling pair disappeared down the hallway Sarah Coulson turned away from the screen door and commented to her two other children, a broad smile on her delighted face. "You know, I think I'm really going to like her!"


	11. Chapter 11

"I think I could easily get use to this." Josie sighed contentedly as she snuggled against Sam. They were swinging gently on the front porch swing, lazily enjoying the peace and quiet of the country and each other's company.  
"It is nice here." Sam agreed, tightening his arms around her and kissing the top of her head lovingly. "I think I could quite easily stay here like this forever." He hugged her even tighter to him for a moment before easing his grip.  
Josie turned her head to look at him and smiled. "Me too." She stretched up to give him a light kiss on his smiling lips.  
After Sam and Josie had gotten cleaned up from their little early morning swim, Josie and the Coulsons had sat down for a nice leisurely breakfast of waffles, sausages and real maple syrup. Josie still chuckled at the scene Russ and Sam made fighting over who got the last waffle. It had been a nice opportunity for Josie to get to know Sam's family and for them to get to know her. Even though she'd barely known them a few hours Josie already loved the Coulsons very much. They were a very warm, welcoming, fun-loving family and Josie felt comfortable with them almost immediately. She was really glad that she had thought to bring some little gifts for them, helping to show how much she appreciated their hospitality and friendship. She couldn't help but smile at the memory of Sam's surprised look when she brought one of her overnight bags downstairs and proceeded to bring out gifts for everyone.  
When she'd caught the look she'd given him a sly smile and asked. "You didn't actually think I needed three overnight bags full of clothes for one weekend, did you?" Sam had tried to cover up his assumption by digging himself in deeper, which caused everyone to laugh even harder than they had been before.  
The laughter grew as Abby looked at Josie and exclaimed seriously. "You are definitely nothing like Lara!"  
After breakfast Sam and Josie had gone for a long relaxing horseback ride through the woods behind his parents' house. They had been gone until about mid-afternoon when, after putting the horses away, they'd curled up together on the porch swing. They'd been there for about two hours, talking and laughing and just enjoying each other's company.  
"So, do you think your family really likes me?" Josie asked tentatively after several moments.  
"I know my family adores you." He quickly assured her as he began nuzzling her neck. "Almost as much as I do."  
"I'm not so sure." She commented, her thoughts drifting over the conversations she'd had with them since she'd met them. "They keep comparing me to Lara, saying things like how I'm nothing like her."  
Sam shifted slightly so he could see her face and commented seriously. "Honey, you should know by now that that's a good thing."  
"I guess." She acknowledged, her mind very obviously elsewhere.  
"Josie, what is it?" He pressed gently, his concerned eyes carefully searching her face for any clues about what she was thinking. When she didn't reply he prompted more. "Honey, please tell me what's bothering you." Brushing a piece of hair off her forehead he ran his hand over her head tenderly. "What's going through that beautiful head of yours?"  
Josie gave him a weak smile and finally voiced her thoughts. "I know that personality wise Lara and I are completely different, and that's okay. Actually its good, because from what I can see nobody you know really liked her at all. Not your family, not your friends, not even you really."  
"So, what's the problem?" He continued to prod, trying to understand where she was going with this.  
"This is probably stupid. In fact you're probably going to think I'm being very vain." She rambled on uncomfortably. "But I'm not. I know I'm not beautiful like Lara is, but I don't really want to be considered the total opposite of her. I mean, if I am that would mean that I am still Josie Grossie and that's something I don't want to be."  
Sam shifted them both so that they were facing each other. Taking her face in his hands he stroked her cheeks gently and said in a firm yet soft tone. "You are not Josie Grossie! You never were Josie Grossie and I would love to skin whoever it was that started that horrible nickname."  
"Actually, it was Rob." Josie admitted with a wry smile. "But its not completely his fault. He didn't expect it to catch on like it did. He's apologized for it though."  
Ignoring Rob's part in the horrible nickname Sam concentrated on Josie and her persistent fears and concerns. "As far as I'm concerned you are very beautiful both inside and out, and my family thinks the same thing. So whenever anyone says you're nothing like Lara they mean it in a good way."  
"I love you." Josie whispered, giving him a loving smile.  
"I love you, too." He returned as he leaned over and kissed her tenderly. When they pulled away Sam smiled at her and said. "I have something for you."  
"What?" Josie asked curiously.  
Mysteriously Sam reached into the breast pocket of his shirt and pulled out a medium sized velvet box. Handing it to her he prompted. "Open it."  
Taking the box Josie gently opened it, her mouth forming a perfect 'O' when she saw what was inside. "Oh, Sam! It's beautiful!" Her finger traced the delicate chain and then the diamonds in the heart-shaped pendant. "Oh, Sam it's wonderful! But I can't accept this."  
"Why not?" He asked, alarm written all over his face. "Don't you like it? I can get you something else."  
"Oh, no, I love it!" She quickly assured him, horrified that he thought she didn't like it. "It's just too much. It must have cost you a fortune."  
Sam smiled softly at that, once again mentally comparing the difference between her and Lara. "It wasn't that much." He assured her as he took the necklace out of the box and fastened it around her neck. "And besides, I don't care if it was. I want you to have it."  
Josie looked down and lifted the pendant, feeling the rough edges with her finger. After a moment she looked up and gave him a tender smile. "Thank you."  
Sam returned the smile. "You're welcome."  
Josie admired her pendant again for a moment before suddenly exclaiming. "Stay right here, I'll be right back!" Sam watched curiously as she jumped off the swing and ran into the house, banging the door closed in her excitement.  
"What's she up to now?" A male voice asked from a few feet away.  
Sam glanced over to the owner of the voice and shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. All she said was that she'd be right back and then she disappeared into the house. She's just full of surprises today, I'm not sure what she's up to."  
Tim Coulson grinned as he leaned his arms on the deck railing and looked at his oldest son. "She's a keeper, son."  
Sam smiled and nodded his head in agreement. "She most certainly is."  
"Your mother and I were talking earlier while you and Josie were out riding and both of us said that we have never seen you happier." His father told him seriously. "And you're certainly a lot more relaxed around Josie than you ever were around Lara, even though you'd been dating for so much longer."  
"It's hard to explain what having Josie in my life has done for me, Dad." Sam commented with a thoughtful look on his face. "For the last couple of years I let Lara take away bits of me and of my life just because it was easier than trying to fight it. I gave up baseball and hockey and doing a lot of other things with my friends just to make her happy. I even considered uprooting my life and moving to New York just because she wanted me to. I lost a lot of who I was and what I loved because I let her take it from me."  
"Including your autographed Gordie Howe helmet." His father commented, anger evident in his tone. Tim still felt very hurt by Lara's thoughtless and selfish act regards that helmet. It had taken him a lot of time and effort to find that helmet for his son and he knew just how much Sam treasured it. No matter where he was living be it at home, at Yale or even on his own in Chicago Sam had always displayed that helmet with great pride. The two of them had even built a special display case for it when Sam was about fifteen and Sam had kept both lovingly with him with every move. It had hurt both father and son when both the helmet and its display case had been unceremoniously discarded by Lara during one of her many temper tantrums.  
Before Sam could reply to his father's words Josie reappeared with a large overnight bag in her hands. Setting it down on the deck she unzipped it and pulled out a gift-wrapped package. Handing it to Sam she announced. "This is for you."  
Sam looked at the present in his hand and then back to her overnight bag in surprise. "How many of those bags of yours actually contained clothes?"  
"Only one." She told him with a smile. "We're only here for two days. I certainly don't need three bags worth for that short period of time." Giving him a mischievous look she added. "Not unless you continue to insist on dunking me in the pond every morning."  
Sam's eyes twinkled slyly as he said. "We'll see."  
Josie chuckled and then prompted again. "Open your present."  
"What is it?" Sam asked as he turned his attention to the package.  
"Open it, silly and you'll find out." She told him playfully, as she sat beside him eager to see his reaction to his gift.  
Sam exchanged an amused look with his father before he started tearing the wrapping off the box. Tilting the box he looked at the picture on the side and remarked. "Oh, look. A microwave. Just what I need." Leaning over he kissed her cheek lovingly and said. "Thank you."  
"That's not what it is." She told him with a laugh. "I got the box from Nikki after she got her microwave a few weeks ago. Open it up."  
Sam eagerly obliged, opening the top flaps of the box. "I wonder what it could be." He remarked as he set the box down on the deck and reached inside. When he pulled out a large wooden and glass box he gaped at it in disbelief.  
"Surprise!" Josie exclaimed excitedly, watching him carefully to gauge his reaction to his gift. When he failed to respond she suddenly became nervous. "Don't you like it?"  
"Don't I like it?" Sam repeated dumbly, still in complete awe as he examined his present more closely.  
"That looks just like the case we make." Tim commented to his son in amazement as he too closely examined the display case that his son held.  
"Look at the helmet." Josie instructed, focusing their attention on the content of the case and watching expectantly as Sam carefully lifted the helmet out. A slow smile spread across his face as he ran his hand gently over the signature scrawled across the side of the helmet. "Look inside."  
When Sam flipped the helmet over to do as she asked he started slightly. "I-I don't believe it!" He finally stammered, his tongue finding it hard to form the words in his astonished condition.  
"What?" Tim asked eagerly, wondering what had caused his son so much surprise. When Sam turned the helmet so he could see what was inside his own jaw dropped when he recognized the childish signature. "'Samuel James Coulson'." He read, his eyes filling with tears as realization donned on him.  
Sam looked back at Josie, disbelief and amazement written all over his face. "How did you ever find this?"  
Josie flushed slightly and replied. "I put an ad in the Sun-Times the Monday after we started dating looking for an autographed Gordie Howe helmet. I got one response, but I was really hoping to find this one." She gestured to the helmet Sam was holding. "So I told him I'd let him know and spent the next four weeks dragging Rob, Aldys, Anita, Sheila and Nikki to all the Pawn shops, sports places and second hand stores in Chicago looking for it. Gus even got his friend Harding Welsh to put an APB out on it."  
"But I don't understand." Sam exclaimed in obvious confusion. "I thought that Lara tossed this in the garbage."  
"Apparently not." Josie told him seriously. "According to the salesman at the store, a woman came in about a year ago and sold him the helmet and the case, as is, for several hundred dollars."  
"I'm surprised that it was still there." Tim commented, his eyes still fixed on the helmet his son held. "You'd think that a collector would have snatched it up a long time ago."  
"The clerk said that a few people had taken a look at it, especially with the display case and everything." Josie admitted. "But because Sam's signature was on the inside it wasn't as valuable as one that was still in mint condition." Looking at Sam affectionately she added. "Except to the boy who put the signature in it."  
Wordlessly Sam carefully returned the helmet to the case and then gently set it on the deck at his feet. Turning in his seat he enveloped Josie in a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair. "Thank you." He whispered gently, his tone full of emotion.  
"You're welcome." She returned, hugging him tightly to her. "I love you."  
"I love you too." He returned, not moving from her embrace.  
Tim watched the hugging pair affectionately for several moments, occasionally wiping at the tears that kept building in the corners of his eyes. Yes, this Josie of Sam's was most definitely a keeper.  
"Oh good, you guys are back!" Abby exclaimed excitedly as she came out of the house with her husband and daughter in tow. "We've all decided to go into town to the carnival. You two interested in going?"  
Sam looked at Josie questioningly, but before either of them could speak Sam's little four-year old niece ran up to them and threw herself eagerly into Sam's lap. "Please came, Unca Sam! You have ta come so we can go on the Merry-Go-Round!"  
Sam smiled at her as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, pinning the excited child to him. "You want to go on the merry-go-round do you, little Miss Muffet?"  
Emma nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yup!" She slapped him squarely on the chest and added. "With you. Just you and me. No one else."  
"No one else, huh?" Sam have her an amused look before glancing at Josie and winking. Turning his attention back to Emma he asked. "Is it okay if we let Josie come too?"  
Emma looked at Josie thoughtfully for a moment before finally nodding her head. "Aunt Josie can come with us too."  
"Aunt Josie?" Sam repeated with obvious amusement as Josie blushed a bright shade of red. "Where did you get that from?"  
"From Momma." Emma told him, pointing towards Abby. "Momma said that when you marry Josie than she would be my aunt." The little girl looked at Josie and pouted slightly. "Don't you want to be my aunt?"  
Josie giggled slightly and flushed a deeper shade of red. After glancing shyly at Sam, who was smiling warmly at her, she turned her attention back to the little girl. "I would love to be your aunt, honey." She assured the little girl honestly. "But I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than that."  
"How more 'plicated?" Emma asked curiously.  
Josie opened her mouth to correct the way she'd asked the question, but then closed it again. It probably wouldn't be considered good manners to correct the young girl in front of her parents. Especially when Josie was trying to make a good impression on said parents. "Well, first of all, Sam and I have to decide if we want to marry each other and then Sam has to ask me."  
"Why don't you ask him?" Little Emma asked seriously.  
"Because, little Miss Muffet." Sam interrupted the conversation, giving the little tyke's side a tickle. "It's usually the guy that asks the girl to marry him." Looking at Josie he added seriously. "And I am greatly looking forward to doing it too." Josie blushed even harder under his gaze and the gaze of his family.  
"Well, shall we get going?" Tim Coulson asked, trying to help remove the attention from his son's obviously embarrassed girlfriend. "If we don't hurry up all the candied apples will be gone!"  
"Oh no!" Emma exclaimed in great alarm. "They can't run out of candied apples!" Squirming slightly she quickly worked her way off her uncle's lap. Once on her feet she ran across the porch as fast as her little legs could carry her. "Come on, everybody! Let's go before their all gone!" All the adults laughed heartily at the young girl's excited exclamations as she ran down the walk and to the nearest car.  
"You know something." Sam commented to Josie as they stood together watching Emma scurrying across the yard.  
"What's that?" Josie asked as he came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him.  
"I'd like to see us with one or two like her someday." He whispered against her ear. Josie felt a shiver run up her spine at the feeling of his hot breath on her ear and neck.  
Leaning her head back against his shoulder smiled shyly up at him. "How about one like her and one who would appreciate that helmet?" The look on Sam's face spoke volumes as he leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly.  
"Okay, you two, enough of that." Tim Coulson teased lightly.  
"Yeah, we'd like to get to the carnival sometime before they close down for the night." Russ commented in a mock-complaining tone.  
Sam gave him a good-natured slap in the back of the head. "You're just jealous because you don't have your own beautiful girlfriend to love and adore."  
"Maybe not." Russ retorted back. "But I'm still better looking."  
"That's a matter of opinion." Sam returned playfully.  
"And mine is the only one that matters." His younger brother replied as he strutted across the deck and down the front steps, all the while casting mischievous looks over his shoulder at them.  
Josie couldn't help but laugh. "Something tells me that he and Rob are going to be completely insufferable when they get together."  
"Russ and Rob together?" Sam repeated then gave a dramatic sigh which sent all his companions into fits of laughter. "Heaven help us all!"

"Hey, honey! Look!" Sam pointed across the fair grounds to a tall steel contraption that loomed high above everything else. Snaking his arm around her waist he pulled Josie to him and asked seductively. "Shall we take a ride on the Ferris wheel?" Josie giggled slightly at his tone and nodded her head in agreement.  
"Wait a minute!" Abby exclaimed looking at her brother in disbelief. "You're actually going to ride the Ferris wheel? The same guy who refused to look out of his second story window when he was a kid and avoided the balcony of his apartment like the plague?"  
"Hey, I happen to like the Ferris wheel." Sam told her in a mock defensive tone.  
"Since when?" She asked in surprise.  
"Since about two months ago when I first rode it with Josie." Sam replied, smiling tenderly at his girlfriend.  
"Wait a minute?" Abby frowned slightly. "Two months ago? You and Josie weren't dating two months ago! Were you?"  
"No we weren't." Sam confirmed with a nod. "I was just trying to be a gentleman."  
Josie wrapped her arms around Sam's waist and teased. "He was trying to be my knight in shinning armor." With a mischievous grin she added. "Actually it was more like my knight in a navy polo."  
"So what happened?" Sarah asked the pair curiously.  
"It was back before Sam knew the truth about me." Josie began to relate. "South Glen South was having it's Senior Nite down at the Navy Pier to raise money for the Prom. I went in an effort to relax, shake off some of the depression I was feeling over my assignment. I was getting kind of stressed out over it since I wasn't having any success infiltrating the 'popular crowd' and then on top of that a couple nights before I learned that Sam had this incredibly beautiful girlfriend who he was planing to move to New York to be with. That news alone was enough to depress me."  
"Did you already have feelings for Sam by then?" Abby asked curiously.  
"By the time I found out that Sam was already involved with someone I was already head over heels in love with him." Josie honestly told them. "And after he rescued my pride by joining me on the Ferris wheels I was forever hooked. Which only ended up making me feel worse since I figured we had no future beyond friendship."  
Abby looked at her brother and pressed with building curiosity. "Whatever possessed you to get on that Ferris wheel in the first place?"  
Sam looked at his girlfriend tenderly as he replied to his sister's question. "I got on it because Josie looked absolutely mortified sitting alone in that Ferris wheel bucket with a carnie yelling 'lonely ride in bucket five' and the other kids on the ride laughing at her." Reaching up to gently touch Josie's face he added. "I didn't even think, I just reacted. Josie was being teased and I had the overwhelming need to protect her. So I climbed into the bucket with her and it wasn't until the ride started moving that I realized what I'd done."  
Josie tightened her arms around Sam and chuckled. "The look on his face when the ride started to move was absolutely priceless. It meant so much to me that he would actually put his own fears second to help me out. That's what made me love him even more."  
Sam gave her a wry smile. "Even though I behaved like a blithering idiot?"  
"You didn't behave like a blithering idiot." She objected seriously. "You were just nervous of the ride."  
He chuckled slightly and admitted. "It wasn't just the ride that I was nervous of. Whenever I was alone with you I felt like a silly schoolboy who couldn't put two coherent words together. Why do you think I brought up Lara and moving to New York? It just came out before I even thought. I never had any real intention of moving there, especially not after I met you. Like I said, it just came out before I thought."  
"You brought up Lara while you were riding the Ferris wheel with Josie?" His brother asked, raising his eyebrows slightly. "You were a blithering idiot, weren't you? Even I know not to bring up a girlfriend or an ex-girlfriend in front of a beautiful woman. Especially one you're trying to impress."  
Sam gave him brother a mock-annoyed look as he started walking away from the group, pulling Josie gently along with him. "Come on, honey. I think I've had about enough abuse for one conversation." The others laughed and fell into step with the departing couple as they headed towards the ride they'd been discussing.  
"So, on the level, Sam." Bill began, giving his brother-in-law a sly wink. "We're you just trying to save Josie some humiliation or was there more to it than that?"  
"Like what?" Sam asked innocently.  
"Oh, like maybe you didn't want to give anyone else the opportunity to fill that empty seat beside Josie." The other man suggested, his eyes twinkling expectantly.  
Sam chucked and pulled Josie tighter to him as they walked. "That's a definite possibility." He admitted. "Because by this I was more than a little attracted to her."  
"So why didn't you ask her out then instead of acting like an idiot?" Russ asked curiously. "She obviously would have said yes."  
"Because I still thought that she was my seventeen year old student." Sam pointed out seriously. "And because of that I was feeling like a perfect heal for being attracted to her." Looking at Josie he asked with an ironic smirk. "Remember what I told you about when you were 'my age'.?" Josie smiled and nodded, tightening her arm around his waist.  
"What did he tell you?" Russ pressed inquisitively.  
"That when I was 'his age' all the guys would be lined up around the block for me." Josie replied, giving Sam a mischievous smirk. Then flushing slightly she added. "Little did he know how wrong he was!"  
"Well, to be honest." Sam said with a smile as he reached over and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I much prefer it this way. Less competition for me. Right now I only have one other guy who's waiting in the wings for you." When Josie gave him a puzzled look he chuckled and explained. "The last day of school, the day you came in and read your story to the class." Josie nodded encouragingly for him to continue. ".after you and Aldys left Guy came over to me and warned me that if I ever do anything to hurt you, that he would be standing by to comfort you and to kick my sorry butt all over Chicago."  
"He actually said that?" Josie looked at him in deep surprise.  
"That may not have been his exact words." Sam admitted, not wanting to repeat exactly what Guy had said. "But that was definitely his meaning."  
"Wow!" Josie breathed under her breath. She hadn't realized just how strongly Guy had felt about her. She'd known that he liked her and that he really seemed to care about her, but she'd never expected him to actually come out and confront Sam like that. Somehow the knowledge of that helped boost her still fragile self-esteem. Josie suddenly realized that they had stopped walking and Sam was now searching her face worriedly. "What?" She asked, wondering at his expression.  
" don' feelings for Guy, do you?" He suddenly felt nervous of her answer. He hadn't expected her to look so delighted at the news of Guy's warning to him. Maybe she'd realized she was more attracted to the younger man then either of them had thought.  
Josie gave a tender smile and reached up to touch his face. "Only as a friend. There's only one 'guy' that I love and his name is 'Sam'."  
Sam beamed at her and leaned down to brush a kiss on her lips. "I love you too."  
"Well, look where we are." Tim commented as he drew everyone's attention to the tall contraption a few feet away.  
"Sam on a Ferris wheel." Abby remarked with a shake of her head. "This I gotta see."  
"It's not really that big of an accomplishment." Her brother commented with a dismissive shrug. "Millions of people across the country do it every day."  
"That may be." She acknowledged. "But none of them are my brother who has an incredible fear of heights."  
Sam rolled his eyes and looked at Josie. "Shall we show them that I can do this?"  
Josie smiled and nodded her head. "Let's do it."  
Sam nodded and took her hand. Looking at his family he teased. "Don't try this at home folks without the benefit of a safety net." Then tugging gently on Josie's hand he led her to the Ferris wheel.  
"This is definitely a side of Sam that I've never seen before." Bill commented to his wife and in-laws with a chuckle.  
"It's been a long time since I've seen Sam this happy and this relaxed." Abby agreed as she watched the pair in question standing in line at the ride. "He's always been very laid back and good-natured, but for the last few years he always seemed to have the weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders."  
"He did." Her mother acknowledged with a serious tone. "Her name was Lara. That woman was no good for Sam. I felt that from the first time I met her. She was selfish and cared only about herself." She watched as Sam and Josie were settled into a bucket and fastened in, a smile on her face. "Josie is so different. She's sweet and caring and is obviously crazy about your brother."  
"And it's not hard to see that Sam's crazy about her." Abby commented, continuing to watch the pair on the ride.  
"Yeah, every time I see them they're hugging or kissing." Russ agreed. "I think I've seen them kissing more in the last day then I saw Sam and Lara kiss or hug in the whole five years that they were dating."  
"That's because Sam and Lara weren't really in love." His sister told him plainly. "There may have been a certain amount of attraction at first, but I think that it soon wore off. At least on Sam's side."  
"Well then why did they stay together for so long?" Russ asked curiously.  
"It think for Sam's part it was because Lara was his first real girlfriend and he felt that he should do everything he could to make the relationship work." Abby replied, watching the bucket descend that contained her brother and his girlfriend. She couldn't help but laugh when Sam, upon spotting her watching them, raised his hands in the air and yelled enthusiastically:  
"Look, Mom! No hands!" Abby noted that Josie had her arms wrapped securely around Sam's waist as if to anchor him in place.  
"I think your brother has lost his mind." Tim Coulson pronounced to both Abby and Russ as Sam settled back into the bucket and wrapped his arms around Josie.  
"Actually, I think that he'd just being herself." Abby countered as she looked at her father seriously. "Sam's always been a bit of a character. Remember what he was like when we were growing up? He was maybe have been easy going and fairly quiet, but I've learned from experience that it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for the most. Remember what happened with the squirrel and Mom's new vacuum cleaner?"  
Her father rolled his eyes and nodded. "I remember."  
His daughter's expression sobered and she shook her head angrily. "When I think of all the things that Lara took away from him I want to just.I could just." She bit down on the threat before she said something she knew she'd regret later.  
Her husband put a consoling arm around her shoulders as he said seriously. "Keep in mind, honey that Sam let her take all those things away from him. He's the one that gave up baseball and hockey and all those other things that he gave up."  
"Yeah, but only because he was trying to get Lara off his back and make her happy." She commented bitterly. "All she ever did was take, take, take. She never gave anything. Except heartache and grief." She watched as the bucket holding her brother and his new girlfriend descended again. This time its occupants were engaged in a conversation, their arms still wrapped around each other. "I certainly hope Josie doesn't turn out to do the same. After all, Lara pretended to be sweet as pie in the beginning too."  
"Yeah, but we all saw right through Lara's 'sweet-as-pie' image." Tim commented with an earnest smile. "I don't think we have to worry about Josie being selfish or demanding." He assured them knowingly. "She quite obviously cares about others." Looking directly at Abby he told her. "She found Sam's Gordie Howe helmet and got it back for him."  
Abby gaped at him in surprise. "But how?" She managed to stammer. "I thought Lara threw it out?"  
"Apparently Lara sold it to a sports memorabilia shop. The helmet and display case it was in." Her father explained. "I guess once Josie had heard that Lara had gotten ride of it she started looking for it all over Chicago. She said that based on what she'd learned about Lara from Sam's friends she couldn't imagine her just throwing it out. She figured she'd be sneakier than that and sell it and pocket the money. After all, an autographed item was worth a lot of money to the right person."  
"It must have taken her ages to find it." Abby commented, trying to fathom the hard work the other woman must have gone to.  
"Josie said that it took her four weeks of searching every second hand store, pawn shop and sports place in Chicago before she found it." Tim told the group must to their amazement.  
"I don't believe it." Abby continued to stare at her father in surprise. "Josie actually went to all that trouble to find the helmet for him?"  
"She did." The older man confirmed. "She said that she'd put an ad in the Sun-Times looking for an autographed Gordie Howe helmet, but only received one reply. Unfortunately, it wasn't the helmet she was looking for."  
"Which helmet was she looking for?" Russ asked, a frown on his face.  
"Sam's." His father replied simply. "She wanted to find Sam's helmet because she knew how much it meant to him."  
Abby shook her head in obvious amazement. "I can't believe it." She looked back to the ride and smiled as she watched Sam and Josie pass by again. Sam was waving to them frantically with both hands, a huge smile on his face. Josie was sitting beside him laughing heartily at his excited gestures.  
"Looks like he's gotten over his fear of heights." Bill remarked to his wife, an amused smile on his face.  
"Oh, he's scared." Abby assured him with a smile and pointed out. "Notice how Josie's arms are wrapped tightly around him to help secure him. He's just trying to pretend he's not scared, but I bet you anything he's actually quaking inside. He's probably dying for that ride to be over." The four adults around her all started to laugh as the pair in question can into view again. This time they were locked in each others arms sharing a very passionate looking kiss.  
"Oh, yeah." Bill commented with a mischievous smile. "Your brother really looks like he's eager for the ride to be over."  
His wife just shook her head in disbelief. "Sam was right. That Josie Geller of his is truly amazing!"

Josie sighed contentedly and leaned her head against the end post of the verandah railing and wrapped her arms around her knees. She was sitting on the front steps of the Coulson's farmhouse, gazing up at the stars. She couldn't believe that her weekend in Wisconsin was almost over. The two days had flown by like nothing and tomorrow morning she and Sam would be heading back to the city and their normal routine. In some ways she dreaded going back. She really loved the peace and quiet of country living, but in other ways she was glad to get home. Even though it had only been a couple of days she missed Rob and Aldys and all her other friends very much. She wasn't use to being away from home, since she very seldom ever left the city. Yes, as much as she'd enjoyed her time with Sam and his family she would definitely be glad to get home.  
She turned her head when she heard the front door creak open and found Abby coming out of the house with two steaming mugs in her hands.  
"I thought you might like some tea." She said, offering Josie one of the mugs. "You take it black, right?"  
"Yes, thank you." Josie acknowledged, taking the mug from her. "The guys still playing golf on Russ' computer?"  
"Yeah." Abby nodded as she sat down on the step beside Josie. "The last time I checked Sam was extremely annoyed because he was stuck in a sand trap."  
Josie laughed knowingly. "That'll really kill his score."  
"He didn't look too impressed." The other woman acknowledged. "He kept blaming it all on the computer, of course. He said that if he'd really been playing he wouldn't have ended up in the sand trap in the first place."  
"Sounds like typical male logic." Josie laughed in amusement. "I could see my brother Rob saying the same thing."  
Abby smiled and leaned back against the corner post of the railing behind her and looked up at the night sky. "The stars sure are beautiful out here, aren't they? They seem to go on forever."  
"They do." Josie agreed as she once again lifted her eyes to the vast Heavens above. "You don't get to appreciate them like this in the city."  
"No, you certainly don't." Abby agreed. Then with her eyes still fixed on the twinkling lights above she said. "I use to spend hours at night sitting out here trying to count the stars. I remember one winter Russ and I spent most of one night out here watching a meteor shower. Sam was off at Yale at the time. We must have counted about two hundred shooting starts." She laughed slightly. "We tried to wish on as many of them as we could."  
"What did you wish for?" Josie asked curiously, taking a sip of her tea.  
"Oh, different things." Abby replied thoughtfully, never shifting her gaze. "Mostly that we would all have happy lives with someone in it that loved us and made us feel special. I got my wish a few months later when I met Bill at a party in town. He's originally from these parts, but shortly before we got married he was offered a job in California that he just couldn't turn down. So we got married and moved to California."  
"How long have you and Bill been married?" Her companion asked curiously.  
"Seven years." Abby replied, taking her eyes off the stars and turning her attention back to Josie. With a soft chuckle she added. "Sometimes it seems longer than that and other times I seems like we were just married."  
"You and Bill make a good couple." Josie commented honestly. "You're obviously very close."  
"We are." Abby acknowledged with a nod. "Bill's my best friend. I love him very much." She watched as Josie nodded and glanced back up at the stars. After a few moments she said, her tone very gentle. "I want to thank you, Josie." When the other woman looked at her in surprise she explained. "You have made my brother so happy. I haven't seen him this relaxed or happy in several years. His relationship with Lara took an awful lot out of him, a lot more than I think any of us realized. Sam was never moody before he started dating her. Even as a teenager he was very easy-going and level- headed. But that all changed when .got her hooks into him. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to say that Sam's spineless or anything, because he's not. He's just loyal, loyal to a fault sometimes. And for whatever reasons, he felt that he had to be loyal to her. Anyway, Dad told me about the helmet." She gave Josie a serious look as she said. "I can't tell you how much that meant to me, to all of us, that you went to all that trouble to return it to him. I doubt Sam told you, but he was absolutely devastated when Lara got ride of that helmet on him. I had secretly hoped that that incident would give Sam the incentive he needed to break up with her, but he didn't. Instead he tried once again to keep the peace by giving up hockey. My brother has given up so much for that witch." She pressed her lips together in an attempt to stop the barrage of angry words that threatened to come. She gave Josie an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be talking about my frustrations with Lara to you. I'm sure you're sick of hearing me complain about her."  
"It's okay." Josie assured her good-naturedly. "I'm getting use to people going off on tangents about her. It seems like everyone Sam knows has something to say on the subject."  
"I know, and we're not being fair to you." Abby commented contritely. "And you shouldn't be forced to listen to our complaints about Sam's ex- girlfriend. I know I wouldn't like it if I was in your shoes."  
Josie hesitated for a moment before venturing to say in an earnest tone. "Abby, I want you to know that I love you brother very, very much. He is the most caring, considerate, wonderful, supportive man that I have ever met. And I would never do anything to hurt him."  
Abby gave her a warm smile and reached over to pat her hand reassuringly. "I know you wouldn't. In fact, I think you're the best thing that ever happened to him."  
"Thank you." Josie gave her a bright smile, her heart soaring at the compliment. "I feel the same way about him. Now that I've met him I don't know how I ever lived the last twenty-five years of my life without him." The two women smiled warmly at each other before turning their attention back to the night sky, falling easily into a comfortable and companionable silence.

"Now you two had better come back and see us again before summer's over and Sam has to go back to work." Sarah admonished Sam and Josie the next morning as everyone said their good-byes.  
Glancing at Sam momentarily Josie looked back to the older woman and warmly assured her. "We will." Sarah gave her a bright smile and pulled her in for a hug.  
"You make sure you take good care of this girl of yours, Sam." Tim told his son seriously as he favored Josie with a warm look. "She is most definitely a keeper."  
As Josie blushed Sam put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "She most certainly is." He agreed with his father whole-heartedly.  
As Sam said his good-byes to his mother Abby pulled Josie aside and asked. "Would it be all right if I called you from time to time in Chicago? I like for us to get to know each other a lot better."  
"I'd like that." Josie told her sincerely.  
"Me too." Abby gave her a warm smile. "I've never had a sister before and I have the feeling that you will make a very nice one."  
Josie blushed slightly. "I'm not your sister yet. Sam and I aren't even engaged."  
The older woman smiled knowingly. "I think the operative word is 'yet'. Something tells me that before this summer is out Sam will be proposing to you." When Josie blushed even redder she added. "My brother is quite obviously head over heels in love with you. It's as plain as the love sick look on his face."  
Josie couldn't help but laugh at that. Glancing at Sam who was play fighting with Russ she admitted honestly. "Sam has already mentioned marriage to me."  
"He has?" His sister exclaimed in surprise.  
Josie nodded. "The night I first told him the truth about myself. And actually he's brought it up a few times since then. Just talking, he hasn't officially proposed or anything."  
"Well, something tells me that's not too far off." The other woman commented knowingly. "And to be perfectly honest, I couldn't be happier for Sam or you. I think you two make a wonderful couple and I'd love nothing more than to have you as a sister-in-law."  
Josie gave her another warm smile. "Thank you."  
"You're welcome." Abby replied, then pulled her in for a warm hug.  
About twenty minutes later Sam and Josie were on the road again heading towards Chicago and their day to day lives.  
"So how did you enjoy your weekend?" Sam finally asked after they'd been on their way for a while.  
"I enjoyed it very much." Josie told him sincerely. "I really like your family."  
"Good, because they really loved you." He told her serioulsy.  
"You think so?" She asked eagerly, giving him a hopeful look.  
Sam reached over and gave her hand a tight squeeze. "I know so. Dad kept telling me all weekend that you were a keeper, especially after you gave me the helmet. He was really impressed that you would go to all that trouble to get it back. Everyone was actually."  
Josie gave his hand a tender squeeze and said. "I knew how much it meant to you and I felt so bad that Lara had gotten rid of it on you. That wasn't right of her to do. It was your property, not hers."  
"That didn't matter to Lara." Sam told her sadly, his expression turning thoughtful. After a few minutes he spoke his thoughts. "I heard what you said to Abby last night." When Josie looked at him with puzzlement he clarified. "When you two were talking on the porch. I'd come out to find you and overheard you comment about how everyone's been expressing their opinion of Lara to you whenever they hear that she and I are over. I want to apologize for that. That's not really fair to you. You don't really know Lara and you shouldn't have to be exposed to people's complaints about her."  
"It's okay, Sam." She assured him with a smile. "I'm getting use to it."  
"Well, you should have to." He told her seriously. "Lara is part of my past and that's where I want to put her - behind me. I don't want her brought up every time I turn around. I've already asked my family to put her to rest and I'm going to do the same with my friends. I don't want Lara to be thought of as my former girlfriend, I want people to focus on you, my current and very much loved and admired girlfriend."  
Josie gave him a tender smile. "I love you too, Sam."  
Sam smiled and lifted her hand to his lips. "From now on its just you and me. Lara Patton is history!"

Sam smiled to himself as he casually wandered through the streets of downtown Chicago. It was a beautiful July day and his spirits were incredibly high. Tonight he was taking Josie out for a very special dinner. Tonight he was finally going to ask Josie the question that had been burning on his lips and in his heart since she'd first tone him the truth about herself. He was finally going to ask Josie to be his wife. He knew they had only been dating for a couple of months, but he just couldn't wait any longer. He wanted Josie to be his wife, of that he was convinced without a shadow of a doubt and he was pretty sure that she wanted to marry him too.

Everything was set for tonight. He'd made reservations at Luigi's. Both Marina and Luigi were beside themselves when Sam had told them his plans for the night. They insisted on handling everything themselves. When Sam tried to protest, they cut him off and told him they weren't taking 'no' for an answer. Sam finally conceded, knowing it was pointless to argue. He had taken Josie to dinner there several times during their seven week courtship and both Luigi and Maria absolutely adored her. They shared the same feelings as everyone else that Sam knew: that Josie was perfect for him. Sam wholeheartedly agreed with them all. He was so excited about tonight that he didn't know how he was going to make it through the rest of the day. The hours seemed to be just creeping along.

Josie was spending most of the day shopping with Nikki Finlay and Sheila Clarke. He was so happy to see that Sheila and Josie had been able to renew their friendship after all this time. It was very apparent that there were happy about it too since they tried to get together as often as possible to rehash old time and create some new ones. And Nikki had fit in with the pair with complete ease. Sam was happy to see Josie with so many friends her own age. It was something she'd obviously been lacking for too long.

Sam was amazed at how much Josie had grown and blossomed during the last few weeks. She had gone from a nervous, uncertain girl to a confident, more self-assured young woman. All of her friends and family attributed the change to Sam and his love and support of Josie. Anita teased that all it took was the love of a good man.

A few hours later Sam unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped inside. It was almost five o'clock and he had barely an hour to get ready and leave to pick up Josie. Their reservations at Luigi's were for seven. Dropping his keys on the table beside the answering machine he noticed that the message light was blinking. Hitting the 'play' button he walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water.

"Hey, Sam! It's Jon! I was just wondering if you'd be interested in a round of golf with Matt and I this afternoon. It's about ten-thirty. Tee off time is at one. Give me a call if you can make it. Bye."

"Well, I guess I missed tee-off time." Sam commented after downing his glass of water. He was just reaching to refill his glass when Tom Geller's voice came over the machine. Something in his tone made Sam freeze and chills to run up his spine.

"Sam, its Tom. I'm trying to locate Josie, but she's not answering either her cell or her home phone. Please call me when you get this message. Something's happened."

Without hesitating long enough to turn off the water tap Sam raced for his phone and punched in the Geller's home phone number. Tom Geller picked up on the first ring. "Josie?" The man asked hopefully.

"No, Tom. Its Sam." The younger man replied, the concern he was feeling earlier heightening at the near panic in the other man's voice. "What's wrong?"

"Is Josie with you?" Tom inquired eagerly, ignoring Sam's question.

"No, she's shopping with Nikki and Sheila." Sam told him. "They met at the mall about noon."

"When was the last time you saw Josie?" Tom pressed anxiously.

Sam frowned, wondering at the sharpness in his tone. "This morning. We had breakfast together and then I dropped her off at the mall to meet the others about ten to twelve."

"Are you suppose to be picking her up there, too?" Her father demanded eagerly.

"No, Nikki or Sheila were going to drop her off." The young man told him.

"Which one?" Tom asked, his tone rising in panic. "Nikki or Sheila?"

"I'm not sure." Sam shrugged his shoulders when the other man didn't say anything else he prompted. "Tom, what's going on? What's this all about?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before Tom said, his tears evident in his tone. "I just got a phone call from Sheila Clarke's sister. There's been an accident. Sheila's car was hit by a van that ran a red light. It crashed right into her door as she crossed the intersection." He paused for a moment to get a handle on his emotions. "She was killed on impact."

"Oh, God." Sam closed his yes and felt the blood drain from his face. Week-kneed he sank into his recliner. "Was Josie with her?"

"We don't know." Tom's anxious voice replied. "We can't seem to find out if Sheila was alone in the car or if Josie was with her."

Sam reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose as he willed himself not to panic. "I've been trying her cellphone since I heard, but she's not picking up."

Sam's eyes fell on the object in question that was sitting on his coffee table beside the tea cup Josie had been drinking from after they'd finished their breakfast that morning. "She left it here this morning. She forgot it when we left for the mall."

"Please, Sam do you have _any_ idea as to where she might be?" Josie's father pleaded desperately. "What do you think the chances are that Josie went with Nikki instead of Sheila?"

"Let me think." He closed him eyes as he did some mental calculations. "Josie walked over there this morning, so her car's at home. It's about the same distance for Sheila to drop her off as Nikki." He sighed with frustration. "I really don't know!" Suddenly and inspiration hit him. "Nikki has a cellphone!"

"Do you have her number?" Tom asked eagerly.

"No." Sam ran his fingers through his hair, but then his eyes fell once again on Josie's phone lying on the coffee table. Jumping up he quickly moved towards it and scooped it up. "But I think Josie has it programmed into her phone." Accessing the address book he scrolled down until he found the number he desired. "It's here. Just hold on a minute, Tom. I'm going to call her from Josie's cell." Not even waiting for the other man to reply he dialed Nikki's cellphone number and pray that she'd pick up.

After about four rings Nikki's cheery voice greeted. "Hello."

"Nikki!" Sam practically sobbed the name.

"Hi, Sam." Nikki returned warmly. "You looking for Josie?"

"Yeah!" He quickly exclaimed. "Is she with you?"

"Yeah, she's right here." She assured him with a slight chuckle. "I'm just about to drop her off at home."

Sam collapsed onto his couch in profound relief. "Thank God." He murmured.

"Sam? What's the matter?" Nikki asked, suddenly getting worried by Sam's odd behavior. "What's going on?"

Taking a deep breath Sam tried to steady his trembling voice as he said. "Nikki, can you bring Josie to my place instead of dropping her off at home?"

"Sam, what's going on?" Nikki repeated, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck raise as a shiver ran down her back. "You're scaring me."

"I'll explain everything when you get here." He assured her. "Please hurry. But be careful." Before she could reply he hit 'END' on Josie's phone and returned to Tom who was waiting anxiously on the other phone. Taking a deep breath he let out a relieved sigh. "Josie's all right. She's with Nikki. They should be here in a few minutes."

"Thank goodness." Tom also let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes tightly against the tears that threatened to flow. Sam heard him speak to someone in the background. "Josie's safe. She's on her way to Sam's with Nikki." Sam heard faint sobs in the background before Tom returned to the phone. "Thank you so much for your help, Sam. We really appreciate it. So, now I guess the next question is how do we break the news to Josie."

"I'll tell her." Sam volunteered, then added soberly. "I guess in a sense it's my responsibility if I plan on asking Josie to marry me."

"You're a good man, Sam Coulson." Tom told the young man seriously. "I want you to know that Janet and I both think very highly of you. You're the best thing that could have ever happened to Josie."

"I feel the same way about her." Sam assured the older man earnestly. "I love her very much. More than anyone else I have ever met."

"I know you do." Tom acknowledged with a nod. "If you need anything, please let us know. If Josie feels she needs to come home, you're more than welcome to come too. We have plenty of room and Josie's room is just as she left it."

"I appreciate that, Tom" Sam acknowledged gratefully. "I'll let you know when the time comes." He looked up as the door of his apartment opened and Josie and Nikki stepped inside. "They just got in."

"I'll let you go then." Tom commented, soberly. "But like I said, don't hesitate to call if you and Josie need anything."

"Thanks, Tom." Sam agreed. "We will. Bye." He hung up the phone and then turned to find Josie and Nikki both watching him curiously. Before either of them could say anything he rose to his feet and enveloped Josie in a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair. "Thank goodness you're all right." He murmured as he held her tightly.

"Sam, are you okay?" Josie stroked his back comfortingly, confusion written all over her face. "What's going on?"

After a few moments Sam pulled away and directed her to the couch. "You'd better have a seat." Looking at Nikki he added. "You too." Nikki silently obeyed, sinking onto the armchair and watching Sam and Josie carefully. Taking Josie's hands in his he looked into her eyes, his own filling with tears. "Josie, there's no easy way to say this. There's been an accident. A van ran a red light and smashed full speed into Sheila's car while she was crossing the intersection." He swallowed trying to push down the lump that was forming in his throat as he added gently. "She was killed on impact."

Josie looked at him blankly for a couple moments as the new slowly began to sink in. "Sheila's dead?" She repeated in a whisper, her tone completely emotionless. Sam could only nod as he waited for her response. Suddenly her face contorted and she crumpled against him crying broken-heatedly. "No! No! **NO!** Not her! Not Sheila! Not her! No! NO!" Then the tears came in full force and she sobbed hysterically against Sam's broad chest. Sam wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

Wordlessly Nikki, with tears of grief streaming down her own cheeks, slipped off the armchair and fell to her knees beside Josie, wrapping her arms around her distraught friend as well.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Sam kept murmuring to Josie as he stroked her blond head tenderly. "I am _so_ sorry!"

"It's not true!" Josie exclaimed angrily. "It can't be true! We just saw her! She just left us a couple of hours ago! She can't be dead! She can't be!" She sobbed again as part of her brain fought the truth of the situation while the other half numbly realized that it must be so.


	12. Chapter 12

"She's finally asleep." Sam told Tom, Janet and Nikki as he joined them in the kitchen of the Geller's home later that evening. When Josie had calmed down after the initial shock of Sheila's death had worn off, Sam had told her of her father's invitation to come home if she wished for the night. After a moment's consideration she nodded her head and agreed that she would like to go home, as long as Sam and Nikki came with her. Both had readily agreed.

That was five hours ago and now Josie had finally fallen asleep on the couch after several hours of tearful reminiscing and self-reproaching regrets. After making sure that she was really asleep Sam had gently and carefully carried her up the stairs to her old room where he'd tucked her into bed. She'd woken momentarily, but fortunately had drifted right back to sleep. She was so exhausted and emotionally drained. Sam didn't feel much better himself as he rejoined everyone else downstairs.

"Hopefully she'll be out for the night." Tom Geller commented, taking a sip from his coffee cup.

"She was pretty tired." Sam replied, his thoughts suddenly far away. He pulled out the small velvet ring box that had been in the pocket of his jeans and squeezed it tightly in his hand. This wasn't exactly how'd he'd hoped to spend the evening. He'd been hoping that this night would be a time for celebrating, not mourning. Loosening his grip on the box he opened his hand so that it rest on his open palm, his eyes fixed thoughtfully on it.

"Is that what I think it is?" Janet Geller asked the young man eagerly, a smile appearing on her lips as she watched him expectantly.

Sam nodded and opened the box so she could see the ring inside. "I was planning on proposing to Josie tonight." He told them seriously. "I'd made reservations at Luigi's and figured we'd take a nice moonlight walk by the water after."

"That sounds beautiful." Janet told him as she looked at the engagement ring that was meant for her daughter. "She would have loved that."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to bide my time for a little while." Sam said as he gently closed the box and returned it to his pocket. "Give Josie a chance to deal with Sheila's death."

"She's not going to have an easy time of it." Janet shook her head sadly. "She and Sheila were so close in school and then the last few weeks they've gotten close again. It was like they'd never been apart. It was so nice to see the two of them together again. Brought back some found memories of times Sheila use to hang out here with Josie." She sniffed slightly and wiped her eyes with a tissue. "She's going to be missed."

"Well, I'll do everything I can to help her get through this." Sam assured them sincerely.

"We know you will." Janet gave him a warm smile. "And we want you to know how grateful we are to you, Sam for everything that you've done for her. You've really brought her out of her shell."

"She's a wonderful girl." Sam told them honestly. "And I love her very much."

"And she's quite clearly crazy about you." Janet told him earnestly. Stepping towards him she pulled him into a warm hug. "Welcome to the family."

Sam hugged her back, chuckling slightly when he pulled back he said with amusement. "Josie hasn't said 'yes', yet. I haven't even asked her yet."

"You will and she will." Janet assured him as she reached up to pat his cheek affectionately. "I have absolutely, _absolutely_ no doubt that you two will be together forever. Oh, I'm _so_ happy!" She hugged him again while Sam and Tom exchanged amused looks over her shoulder.

The next week passed with a blue for Josie. Some days she felt so numb that she barely remembered or noticed what was going on. Other days she spent shedding buckets and buckets of tears over the sudden loss of her dear old friend. She still found it hard to believe that Sheila was really gone. It seemed so unreal at times for her. This was the type of thing that happened to other people, but not to her. Not to someone that she knew.

Wednesday had been Sheila's funeral. Attendance had been in the hundreds as family, close friends, college peers and co-workers all showed up to pay their final respects to the young woman who'd touched their lives. The funeral was the first time Josie had seen Derek since she'd heard the news. After everything was over and people were approaching him to give their condolences Josie and Sam did the same. Her eyes teared up as she remembered how she and Derek clung to each other, sobbing heavily on each other's shoulder. When she'd finally pulled away Sam had stepped up and offered Derek his sympathies, his own eyes overflowing with tears. It was the first time Josie had ever seen Sam cry.

"How you holding up, sweetheart?"

Josie looked up from her _Perks_' tea and gave her boyfriend a lopsided smile. "I'm still here." The words caused tears to well up in her eyes again.

"Oh, honey." Sam reached over and gave her hand a tender squeeze. "I know it's hard. I wish there was something that I could do to ease your pain."

"I'll be okay." She quickly assured him, giving his hand a squeeze in return. "Just being there for me really helps. I don't know how to thank you for that."

"No charge." He assured her, raising her hand to his lips and placing a kiss on her knuckles. Then changing the subject he asked. "What did Gus say when you asked him if you could skip your column this week?"

"He and Rigfort were both surprisingly understanding." She told him, taking a sip of her tea. "They just said that they'd print a little note saying that due to personal reasons _Life and Times of Chicago_ wouldn't be appearing in this week's Friday paper."

"I'm glad that they didn't give you a hard time about it." He told her sincerely. "I mean you're in no shape to handle the pressure of writing a column this week."

"Gus and Rigfort can both be gruff and all that stuff." Josie commented thoughtfully. "But deep down they're both great guys."

"Yeah, I guess they are." Sam agreed with a nod, then after a slight pause suggested. "Listen, why don't we do something this weekend? Maria's agreed to hold our table tomorrow night if you're interested."

Josie gave him a horrified look. "Our date at Luigi's! We didn't get there last week! Oh, Sam. I am _so_ sorry! I _completely_ forgot about it! I…"

"Hey, sweetheart, it's okay." Sam quickly reached over to grab her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. "That's perfectly understandable. Don't worry about it, I explained everything to Maria and Luigi and they told me to tell you how sorry they are and that whenever you feel up to it our table will be waiting for us."

"Oh, Sam." Josie sighed slightly. "Your friends are so wonderful! Joanna called me last night to see if there was anything she and Jonathan could do to help. Matt even emailed me a sympathy card offering his condolences and a shoulder to cry on if I wanted it." When Sam raised his eyebrows slightly she laughed and said. "I already emailed him back and told him that while I appreciated the offer I already had a shoulder to cry on if I needed one."

"And whose shoulder would that be, Miss Geller?" Sam asked with mock innocence.

"That of my extremely wonderful and adorable boyfriend." She gave him a warm smile.

"Lucky boyfriend." He teased as he smiled back, reaching out to cup her cheek with his hand. "I love you."

"I love you too." She returned, covering his hand with hers.

"So, what do you say to Luigi's tomorrow night?" Sam asked gently, clasping her hand tightly in his as he waited for her answer.

Josie thought about his question for a few minutes before shaking her head slightly. "I don't really feel like getting dressed up and going out for a fancy dinner. Why don't we just order in a pizza and watch a movie? That's about all I feel up to."

"Sounds fine to me." Sam agreed with a smile. "Whatever you feel up to. As long as I get to spend the evening with you."

"You're the greatest." Josie told him with a grateful smile, her eyes shinning with love and appreciation.

"So, what movie did you get?" Sam asked the next evening as he and Josie curled up on her couch with pizza and Cokes.

"_**The Horse Whisperer**_." Josie replied as she hit the 'play' button on the VCR remote and then snagged a piece of pizza. "Anita's been telling me for ages what a good movie this is. She saw it when it first came out in theaters with one of her many boyfriends."

"Speaking of Anita and her boyfriends, how are she and Gus doing?" Sam asked curiously. "I don't think I've seem them since we came back from Wisconsin."

"They're doing fine." Josie assured him. "Anita's talking about moving back to her place at the end of the month. She's been doing a lot better and her cast is suppose to come off in another week or so."

Noting the sad look on her face Sam commented. "You're going to miss her, aren't you?"

Josie took a bite form her pizza slice and nodded her head. "It was kind of nice having a roommate. Someone that you could talk to about whatever you wanted, to share things with. I liked coming home and finding someone here instead of coming home to an empty apartment."

"I know what you mean." He commented earnestly. "Actually, you know I've been thinking about getting a roommate myself."

"Oh really?" Josie looked at him with genuine surprise. "I thought you liked living on your own."

"Well, like you I've decided that it would be nice to have someone to come home too. " He admitted as he chewed thoughtfully on a piece of pizza. "Someone to ask me how my day was, to sit down and watch movies or sports with." He looked her in the eye as he added softly. "Someone that I could hold in my arms all night long."

Josie felt her face redden slightly as a mental picture of her being the one that he held all night long flashed through her mind. "That would have to be a very special roommate." She commented softly.

"I think so too." He agreed.

"Do you have someone specific in mind?" She felt her heart skip as she waited for his answer but before he could reply the phone rang. Josie eye's flickered towards it, but then quickly returned to meet Sam's gaze.

He sighed slightly and encouraged with evident disappointment. "You'd better get it. I don't want someone panicking if you don't answer the phone right away." Ever since Sheila's accident last weekend everyone's been on edge about keeping tabs on each other, especially Josie. Sam didn't think she fully realized how much of a scare she gave her parents and him for those few minutes when they didn't know where she was.

Josie nodded and rose to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi Josie, its Joanna." The caller identified herself with a friendly tone.

"Hi Joanna." Josie returned the greeting warmly. "How are you?"

"_I'm _fine." The other woman assured her. "Its _you_ I'm worried about."

"I'm fine." Josie quickly assured her but then admitted. "Okay, I'm not _fine_ but I'm coping. Thanks to Sam and my family. Everyone has just been great."

"Listen, I was just wondering if you'd like to go out for lunch tomorrow afternoon." Joanna suggested eagerly. "I think Jonathan was going to see if Sam wanted to go golfing with him and Matt and Scott."

"I don't know." Josie hesitated slightly. "I'm not really in the mood for socializing." As much as she liked the other woman, Josie still didn't really know her that well so Joanna wasn't one of her friends that she could just relax with. Josie was also nervous to go out with her because she was still prone to bursting out into tears at the slightest remembrance of Sheila.

"Oh, come on, Josie." Joanna pressed gently. "It'll be fun. If you want to, you can invite some of your friends to join us. I'd love to meet them. Maybe afterwards we can do a little bit of shopping. We'll make it a real girl's day out. What do you say?"

Josie hesitated for another moment before finally agreeing. "Okay, I'll come. Where and what time?"

"Shall we say _Victorio's_ at twelve-thirty?" Joanna suggested. "Do you know the place?"

"Yeah, I know it." Josie nodded. "I'll call the others and see if they're free. What time are the guy's teeing off?"

"One o'clock I think." Joanna replied hesitantly than confirmed. "Yup, one o'clock."

"Okay, we'll I check with the girls and see if any of them are free and I'll see you there." Josie told the other woman, actually starting to look forward to the luncheon. "And Joanna? Thank you. I really do appreciate your concern."

"Hey, no need for thank yous." She quickly assured the younger woman. "After all, you're not just Sam's girlfriend, your our _friend_ too."

"I appreciate that." Josie smiled into the phone. "Um, did Jonathan want to speak with Sam about tomorrow?"

"Is he there?" Joanna asked then chuckled. "That explains why Jon can't get a hold of him at home. Yeah, if you don't mind getting him."

"Just a sec." Josie turned and held the phone out to Sam. "For you. It's Jon."

"Jon?" Sam pulled himself to his feet and moved towards the phone. "Hello?"

As Sam made plans with Jonathan for the next day Josie returned to the couch and the movie that was still playing. A few minutes later she watched in horror as two young girls - best friends - were separated by a riding accident which took one of their lives. Sam returned a few minutes later to find Josie sobbing softly on the couch. Worried he dropped down beside her and quickly pulled her into his arms. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? What happened?" Josie continued to sob, unable to speak, but Sam soon realized what had set her off. Reaching for the remote he turned the tape and the television off. "It's okay, honey. It's okay."

"How can it be okay?" Josie cried stormily against his chest. "Sheila's gone, Sam. Sheila's gone and things will never be the same again."

"Josie!" Joanna waved and smiled at the young woman as she made her way through the crowded restaurant towards her.

"Hi Joanna." Josie greeted the other woman with a warm hug. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too." Joanna echoed. As they took their seats she asked curiously. "Where are the others?"

Josie smiled and said. "They all had lunch dates of their own. Anita and Gus were going to catch a matinee, Rob and Aldys were having lunch together and then going to the park to toss a ball around and Nikki had plans to meet her mother. So I'm afraid you're stuck with me all by yourself."

"Hey, that sounds just fine to me." Joanna assured her with a warm smile. "I was kind of hoping it would just be the two of us. I don't think we've ever spent any real time by ourselves to get acquainted. Just a couple times in the kitchen while we made supper."

"I guess you're right." Josie nodded. "You know, now that I think about it, there's something I've been wanting to ask you."

"What's that?" Her companion prompted, giving Josie her full attention.

"You've known Sam a long time, right?" The younger woman commented carefully.

"About twenty years." Joanna said proudly.

"And you'd say you know him fairly well, right?" Josie continued to press.

"I'd say so." Joanna nodded. "I'd say between Jon and I we probably know everything there is to know about Sam. Why do you ask?"

Josie opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the waiter who wanted to take their order. "And what would you two lovely ladies like today?"

"I'll have the Lasagna with Caesar Salad and garlic bread." Joanna requested after glancing at the menu for a moment. "And a Coke too, please."

"Good choice." The waiter acknowledged and then looked at Josie. "And you, miss?"

"I think I'll have the Fettuccine Alfrado and a small Caesar." Josie replied.

"And to drink?" He prompted.

"I'll have a large ice tea, please." She told him.

"Very good choice." He told her and he took her menu. "Can I get you ladies anything else?"

"No, that should do it for me." Joanna replied as she handed him her menu.

"Me too." Josie echoed.

The waiter smiled brightly at her and winked. "If there's anything else you need, a_nything_ at all, my is Sean."

Josie giggled nervously and acknowledged. "Thank you, Sean." With another wink he was gone. Blushing Josie looked at Joanna and asked. "I wonder what that was about."

Joanna chuckled slightly and teased. "I think it means that you have an admirer."

Josie blushed a little more. "No way." She denied, but secretly the thought made her feel good. "Besides, I'm already taken. Well, sort of."

"What do you mean 'sort of'?" Joanna pressed curiously.

Josie leaned forward and confided in a soft tone. "I _think_ Sam tried to propose last night."

"You think?" Joanna questioned with a puzzled frown. "You mean you don't know if he did or not?"

"Well, we were talking about how much I'm going to miss Anita when she moves out of my place next month." Josie explained, trying to outline the conversation for Joanna. "I was saying how nice it had been to have a roommate, to not come home to an empty apartment, but to have someone there to do stuff with. Sam then said that he'd been thinking about getting a roommate himself. Someone to ask him how his day was, to sit down and watch movies or sports with." She flushed slightly as she added his final comment. "Someone that he could hold in his arms all night long."

"Oooh! That sounds romantic!" The older woman said with a delighted smile. "So what did you say?"

"I said that that would have to be a special roommate." Josie related, a small smile on her face. "And he agreed, but then before he could say anything else the phone rang."

"Wait a minute!" Joanna exclaimed, giving her a dismayed look. "Please don't tell me that's when I called!" Josie hesitated then nodded her head. "Oh, Josie! I am _so_ sorry! Talk about rotten timing! Please tell me you two picked up after Sam got off the phone with Jonathan."

Josie shook her head sadly. "No, by the time he'd gotten off the phone I was upset and crying because the movie we'd been watching had just shown two friends getting separated because one was killed in a riding accident. I was a mess for a while after that."

"Oh, Josie. I'm sorry." Joanna repeated, truly feeling bad for unintentionally ruining a special moment for her friends.

"Oh, don't worry about it." Josie assured her seriously. "If Sam really was trying to propose he'll try again some other time. If not, well I guess he won't."

Joanna chuckled slightly. "Trust me Josie, that guy is going to propose to you. I have never seen him so crazy about anybody in my life. Sam Coulson is so head over heels in love with you that he can hardly string two sentences together without including your name anymore. Face it, you've got that man hook, line and sinker." She paused for a moment before adding. "I'd bet Jonathan's entire _**Star Trek**_ collection that Sam'll propose to you before the new school year starts. But don't tell Jonathan. If I did by some chance loose he'd have a fit."

Josie laughed knowingly. "I think Sam's very happy to have his collection home again." Shaking her head slightly she said. "I never imagined he'd have so much _**Star Trek**_stuff. He must have hundreds, if not thousands of dollars invested there."

"Well, both he and Jonathan have been collecting _**Star Trek **_memorabilia ever since they were about ten or eleven." Joanna told her. "Actually I think some of the stuff they have is worth a pretty good penny if they ever decided to part with it. They both keep the stuff in mint condition. Even the books don't have any crease marks in the spine even though they've been read over and over again."

"I noticed that." Josie laughed. "I was wondering why he had all these brand new _**Star Trek**_ books that he'd never bothered reading. I guess he's just been very careful with them. He's offered to let me read them, but I'm almost afraid to touch them."

"That'll change." Joanna assured her with a chuckle. "Not you being afraid to touch them, him offering to let you read them. Jon did the same thing when we were dating. He let me borrow any _**Star Trek**_ book I wanted before we got married. _After _we got married if I even looked at the books he'd have a fit."

"Hmmm." Josie looked at Joanna thoughtfully. "So I guess I have to decide if I can stand to live with a man who's obsessed with _**Star Trek**_."

"Think you can cope?" The other woman prompted curiously, hoping in her heart that such truths about Sam wouldn't scare Josie off. But it was also good to let the girl know what she was in for if she did decide she wanted to marry Sam.

"Well, I've put up with Rob for the last twenty-three years and he's been obsessed with baseball since Dad bought him his first ball and glove at the age of five." Josie admitted with a wry smile. "So I suppose I can put up with Sam's _**Star Trek**_ addiction."

"Does Sam still have that big autographed poster of Deanna Troi?" Joanna asked curiously.

"Yes." Josie nodded. "But we have agreed that it stays rolled up in a poster tube in the back of Sam's closet."

"Smart girl." Joanna laughed as Sean appeared with their drinks. He set a Coke before Joanna and the ice tea before Josie and then added a glass of red wine for each of them. When Joanna opened her mouth to tell him they hadn't ordered any wine Sean interrupted her and said, looking at Josie.

"The wine is on the house. Compliments of a secret admirer."

As he moved off Joanna looked at her friend and teased mischievously. "I'll tell you, Sam had better get a ring on that finger of yours quick or else he's going to have a whole lot of competition buzzing around." Leaning across the table towards the other woman she prompted slightly. "So, if I'm right and Sam's planning on proposing to you, what's your answer going to be?"

Josie gave her a mysterious smile as she took a sip of her ice tea. After she set the glass down she said softly. "Yes. My answer would be yes."

Joanna beamed at her in delight. "This calls for a toast." Picking up her wineglass she said. "To Sam and Josie. May he get a move on and make you his wife before someone else does." Josie just laughed and took a sip of her wine.

**LIFE AND TIMES OF CHICAGO**

_A Weekly Column by Josie Geller_

_Sun-Times Staff Writer_

Author's Note: I just want to thank everyone who sent cards and letters expressing their concern about the 'personal reasons' that prevented my being able to write my column last week. Your honest expressions were both appreciated and heart-warming in my time of grief. Thank you - J.G.

My Dearest Sheila,

I feel a little silly writing this letter, and I'll probably end up tearing it up afterwards, but I just had to get some of my feelings out. I miss you so much. It's been eleven days since the accident that took you away from us, but a day doesn't go by that I haven't thought about you. You were like the sister I never had. You've always been incredibly special to me, ever since we met in grade school. Remember? We were both swinging on the swings and we just started talking. We were pretty much inseparable after that. You've always been incredibly special to me and I've been kicking myself constantly for not getting together with you more often. For letting eight years go by without any contact. I know we both had busy lives, but I wish we'd stayed in better touch.

I'm feeling so totally bereft of friends right now, which is silly because I'm surrounded by so many family and friends all wanting to help me through this terrible time. But they're not you. Nobody's you. And there are certain things about me and about my life that nobody ever knew except you. Things I've never told anybody else, things I never had to tell anyone because you were there, you already knew. There was no need to talk about it. But now there is, and that's scary. A couple of times you encouraged me to talk about them, but I don't know if I can. I'm not that strong yet, not that brave. You were always the brave one. You kept me going. Told me it was okay to hold my head up high. I needed that. I needed you. I miss you.

I miss your cheery hello, the one I always got whenever I phoned you. That smile that seemed to be permanantly on your face. I can't tell you how lucky I am to have had a best friend like you. You will always be one of my best friends. Nobody can or will ever replace you.

I love you, Sheila.

Goodbye my dear, sweet friend. You will always be missed, but you will always be in our hearts.

Sam glanced at his watch as he descended the steps of one of Chicago's many library branches, several books in his hand. He still had one more week left before school started and he was starting to go a little stir crazy. He always found himself chaffing to begin the school year, but this year was worse. He wasn't sure why, but he though it might have something to do with the fact that he'd promised himself that he would propose to Josie before the new school year started. He was determined and hopeful that he would begin the new term an engaged man. And he knew exactly how he was going to do it, too. He'd decided against trying another fancy dinner at _Luigi's_. He figured that they'd go there to celebrate instead. No, this plan was a little more unique than that and he was very excited about executing it.

Without really thinking about it, Sam pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the familiar number for Josie's office.

"Good afternoon, _Chicago Sun-Times_." A male voice greeted on the other end. "Merkin speaking."

"Hi Merkin, its Sam." He replied in a friendly tone. "Is Josie in?"

"Yes she is." Merkin acknowledged stiffly. "But I'm afraid that Ms Geller is busy at the moment. May I take a message?"

Sam gaped slightly at his phone before pressing. "Come on, Merkin. You know she'll want to talk to me."

"I'm sorry, sir." The assistant stood his ground. "But she _insisted_ that she not be disturbed."

"Tell you what." Sam persisted. "Why don't you page her and ask if she'll talk to me. If she doesn't want to, I'll hang up and not bother you anymore. Deal?"

Merkin mumbled something under his breath before grudgingly saying. "Just a minute, please and I'll see if she's available to take your call." Sam listened to the boring elevator music that droned through the phone line while he was put on hold.

Finally the music stopped and he heard Josie's annoyed voice saying. "Next time just put him through! When I said I didn't want to be disturbed I wasn't talking about screening calls from friends and family!" Her tone changed as she spoke into the phone. "Hi sweetheart. I'm sorry for the wait."

"It's okay." Sam assured her with a soft chuckle. "Though you could use some more interesting HOLD music."

Josie chuckled in amusement. "Sorry, but I'm afraid that's not my department. Just a moment, honey." Sam could tell that Josie was trying to cover the receiving as she addressed her assistant, but he could still hear her quite clearly. "No, Merkin! I _do not_ want to take a call from 'The Sons of Satan's Belly'!...Because I _am not_ going to do an article about how they eat live snakes and worship pigs!..." Sam couldn't make out what Merkin's response was, but he couldn't help but smile knowingly when Josie sighed in obvious annoyance and exclaimed. "Whatever! I don't really care! I'm not talking to them. I'm busy!" Returning to Sam she apologized again. "I'm sorry about that Sam. Sometimes Merkin can be so incredibly dense. Not to mention deliberately annoying. Why couldn't they have given me an assistant that could and actually would assist. Anyway, you didn't call to listen to me complain about him. How's your day going?"

"Better than yours it sounds." He chuckled slightly. "We still on for tonight?"

"Dinner and a movie with my favorite guy? I wouldn't miss that for the world." She told him sincerely. Then glancing at the large bouquet of roses sitting on her desk she smiled. "By the way, thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful."

"You're welcome." He told her. "I love you."

"I love you too." Josie felt her heart melt at his tender tone.

"So, I'll see you at six then?" He said eagerly. "The show starts at seven-forty-five. I thought we'd grab a quick bite before that."

"I'll be ready." She assured him. "I'm really looking forward to it. Anita told me that she and Gus went to see _**Runaway Bride **_last month when it first came out. It's suppose to be quite good. I like Julia Roberts, and Richard Geere too."

"Just as long as it doesn't give you any ideas." He teased her lightly.

"Hey, I'm not a bride." She replied, fighting a grin.

"Not yet." He commented seriously. "But summer's not quite over yet."

"Well then you'd better hurry up, Coulson." She boldly teased. "You don't have much time left."

Sam laughed and then said goodbye. As he hit END on the phone he sighed. He always felt so bereft when he said goodbye to her. Like a piece of him was always missing whenever she wasn't there. When he and Josie had started dating Sam had thought that he could never love anyone as much as he loved Josie. But he'd been wrong. The more he got to know her, the more he loved her. She was truly the most amazing woman that he had ever met.

Sam's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he came upon a large crowd of people gathered on the front steps of City Hall. Curious he closed in on the gathering, gently making his way through some of the onlookers as he tried to find out what was going on. When he got closer to the front of the crowd he saw that the Mayor of Chicago, the Chief of Police, several other uniformed officers and a lone man dressed in a bright red tunic and Stetson stood on the top steps of City Hall. It appeared that one of the officers was receiving some sort of commendation.

"Excuse me?" A female voice suddenly said at his elbow. Turning his head Sam looked into the vaguely familiar face of the woman. "You're Sam Coulson, right?"

"That's right." Sam acknowledged with a friendly smile as he quickly tried to place where he'd seen her before.

"I'm Stella." She prompted as if reading his mind. "Stella Kowalski. We met at a Law dinner about two years ago. You're Lara Patton's fiancée, aren't you?"

"I was her boyfriend." Sam corrected. "We were never engaged. And actually we broke up a few months ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Stella acknowledged sincerely. "She's still in New York I take it?"

"Yeah, as far as I know she is." He nodded. "I haven't spoken to her since we split up, but I'm assuming she's still there doing the bar scene. In more ways than one, I'm sure." Stella nodded in understanding. She'd gotten to know Lara once during a meeting about three years ago. They'd gone out for drinks with a few others and Lara had started flirting with every male in the room. Stella had already met Sam and knew that they were suppose to be a serious item, but when she'd questioned Lara about it she had just scoffed and said that she wasn't going to spend the weekend alone and what Sam didn't know wasn't going to hurt him. Stella had been appalled by her attitude. Even though her love life was nothing to boast about, she would never think of betraying whoever she was currently with by going after someone else. It just wasn't part of her nature. "So what's going on here?"

Sam's question brought Stella back to the present. "Ray's getting another citation for bravery." She told him, visibly proud of the fact. "This will make number four."

"What did he do?" Sam asked, intrigued as he watched the proceedings.

"He and Fraser captured three escaped convicts that had taken refuge in a daycare facility." She explained, applauding enthusiastically with the crowd as the Mayor presented Ray with his medal. "The convicts took everyone hostage."

"That was _him_?" Sam looked at her in surprise. "He snuck into the daycare and took them out single-handedly because they'd shot one of the caregivers!"

"Well, he didn't exactly do it _single-handedly_." Stella corrected slightly. "Fraser was there too. But thanks to both of them everyone got out alive and the convicts were apprehended."

"Which one is Fraser?" He asked curiously. "He's the one in the red suit." Stella told him, a small smile tugging at her lips. "The one that looks like a toy soldier."

"Who is that guy, anyway?" He asked as the two men posed with the Mayor, the Police Chief and another man who looked vaguely familiar to Sam for some pictures.

"Constable Benton Fraser, Royal Canadian Mounted Police." She replied. "He first came to Chicago..."

"On the trail of the killers of his father." Sam finished, realization striking him as some pieces fell into place.

"How did you know that?" Stella gave him a surprised look.

"I met Constable Fraser last month." Sam explained. "He and the Detective," He gestured towards the partners who were now talking with the Mayor. "were in charge of investigating a hit and run where my girlfriend's best friend was the victim. They stopped by the hospital a couple of times to ask questions."

"I'm surprised you didn't recognize Fraser." Stella remarked. "Not too many people go around in a red tunic."

"He wasn't wearing his uniform the night I saw him at the hospital." Sam replied. "He was wearing jeans and a leather jacket. He did have the Stetson on though."

Stella smirked knowingly. "Yeah, he never goes anywhere without it."

Sam glanced back at the partners who were talking to the other man Sam thought he recognized. "They seem to have a very..._unique_ partnership. How long have they been working together?"

"About two, two and a half years. They were partnered up after Fraser's original partner went undercover with the mob." Stella suddenly spotted someone she recognized just behind Sam. Lifting a hand she waved it slightly and called. "Meg! Over here!" A moment later a dark-haired woman pushed her way through the crowd.

"Sorry, I'm late." She commented breathlessly. "I got tied up at the Consulate. Are they finished yet?"

"Yeah, all except the press pictures and questions." Stella told her.

Meg rolled her eyes. "We'll probably be here forever."

"Only if Benton starts in on one of his Inuit stories." Her friend teased.

"He wouldn't dare!" Meg laughed knowingly. "Ray would kill him."

"Don't worry." Stella chuckled. "I think Lieutenant Welsh is keeping a close reign on them."

Glancing at the pair in question Meg chuckled. "I think this is the first time that I've ever seen Ray in his uniform. He looks good. Uncomfortable, but good."

"He absolutely _hates_ that thing!" Stella laughed in amusement. "He does nothing but complain whenever he wears it." As she glanced back to where Ray and Fraser were standing she suddenly remembered Sam. Looking at the younger man she apologized. "I'm sorry, Sam. I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine, Inspector Meg Thatcher of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She's Constable Fraser's superior officer as well as his fiancée. Meg, this is Sam Coulson. His ex-girlfriend, Lara Patton is a lawyer in New York. We met a couple of times at some of those boring Law dinners."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Meg acknowledged, giving Sam a friendly smile. "So what do you do for a living? Are you a reporter?" She glanced at the members of the fourth estate that surrounded them.

"No." Sam replied with a smile. "I'm a High School English Teacher. Actually, my girlfriend's a reporter. Columnist really. She writes for the _Chicago Sun-Times_."

"I read the _Sun-Times_ regularly." Stella told him eagerly. "What's her name?"

"Josie Geller." He replied, his face full of pride. "She writes the weekly column entitled..."

"_Life and Times of Chicago_." Stella finished for him. "I read her column every week. She's a very talented writer." Suddenly something occurred to her and a broad smile broke across her face. "So you're the teacher that she mentioned in her first article. The one she'd said she'd fallen in love with. I always wondered who he was! Congratulations!"

"Thank you." Sam acknowledged with mild embarrassment.

"So, how are the two of you doing?" She pressed curiously. "You still going strong?"

Sam smiled good-naturedly and replied. "Yeah, things are going fine. We're doing very well actually."

"Good." Stella commented with obvious delight. "It's nice to know that someone's love life is in order." She sighed slightly as she glanced over to where Ray and Fraser were finally wrapping things up.

"It takes time, Stell." Meg told her seriously. "You know the expression 'once bitten, twice shy'." She noticed the curious look on Sam's face, but to his credit he didn't voice his thoughts. "Ray and Stella were married at one time." The dark-haired woman explained. "They got divorced about three years ago. But ever since the incident at the daycare she's been having second thoughts."

"But ever since Ray's expedition with Fraser in the Northwest Territories he acts like he and I are nothing more than old friends." Stella complained sadly. Looking at Sam she added. "Before that he was always trying to get back together with me. Of course, I had to be a real witch to him." At Sam's surprised look she gave him a wry smile. "Let's just say that your ex-girlfriend and I had a lot in common when it came to how rotten we were to our guys."

"Have you actually come right out and told him that you've had a change of heart?" Sam asked curiously. When Stella shook her head he added. "Maybe you should. If there's anything I learned from my relationship with Josie its that communication and honesty can save you a lot of heartache and frustration."

Stella considered his words as Ray and Fraser joined them. She was startled out of her musings when Ray suddenly grabbed her and spun her around. "Ray!" She protested despite the fact that she was secretly pleased by the action. He hadn't done that since the earlier years of their marriage. When they were actually getting along. Where had those days gone? Why had they let them disappear? "What's gotten into you?"

"I think Ray's happy." Fraser ventured, trying to explain his friend's unexpected action.

"I gathered." Stella commented wryly as Ray set her back on her feet.

Looking at his friends Ray asked eagerly. "I'm starving! You guys wanna go for something to eat? How about some pizza? My treat."

"My aren't we feeling generous today." Stella teased, smiling slightly as Ray draped an arm around her shoulders. "You're feeling pretty good about yourself right now, aren't you?"

"Why not?" Ray gave her a broad grin. "Thanks to me and Frase, three goons are off the streets and back behind bars where they belong. What's there not to feel good about?" Then without skipping a beat he asked. "So what does everyone want? Chinese? Mexican?" His three friends couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"Let's go some place special." Stella suggested eagerly. "After all, we should celebrate your heroics properly."

"Got any place in mind?" Ray inquired looking at her expectantly.

Stella shrugged her shoulders and shook her blond head. "I don't know. Someplace nice. Maybe even a little romantic."

Ray's eyebrows raised slightly. "Romantic, eh?"

"If I may." Sam ventured to interrupt. "I know the perfect place for your celebration." When they all looked at him curiously he added. "_Luigi's_. It's a little Italian restaurant by the waterfront."

"Not far from Navy Pier." Meg remarked eagerly. Looking at Stella she added. "That's the little place I was telling you about."

"The one with the fabulous lasagna." Her friend recalled with a smile. "But didn't you say that it was very hard to get a reservation there."

"They were pretty busy." Meg acknowledged a little sadly. "I doubt we could get one on such short notice."

"If you guys are interested in going, I'd be more than happy to set it up for you." Sam quickly offered. When they gave him a surprised look he explained. "I sort of have an inside connection. I tutored Luigi in English a couple years ago and ever since they've sort of adopted me as a surrogate son. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to squeeze you in if I asked them to."

Ray looked at his three friends and asked. "What do you think? You guys wanna go?"

Both Stella and Meg nodded their heads eagerly. "I'd say that's a yes, Ray." Fraser commented with a smile.

"I'd say it is, Benton buddy." His partner agreed with a chuckle. Turning to Sam he accepted the other man's offer. "If you wouldn't mind makin' that reservation we'd like to try _Luigi's_."

"My pleasure." Sam pulled out his cell phone and dialed Maria and Luigi's number.

"Why don't you and your girlfriend join us, Sam." Stella invited warmly. "I'd love to meet her and you're being so sweet making this call for us."

At Sam's hesitant look Meg echoed. "Yes, do." The two men encouraged him as well to join them.

"All right." Sam nodded and then smiled as his call was answered. "Hello, Anna. It's Sam. Can I please talk to Maria or Luigi?"

"Just a moment, please." Anna acknowledged and then put him on hold.

Less than a minute later Maria's excited voice filled the line. "Sam! My wayward son, where have you been? We've missed you!"

Sam chucked as he said. "I know, Maria. I'm sorry we haven't been in lately, things have been kind of hectic for us the last month or so. But actually that's why I called. Would you be able to find room for six tonight for supper?"

"For you, _i mio ragazzo caro,_ anything!" She assured him without hesitation. "What time?"

"Just a moment." He looked at the others. "What time?"

His four companions looked at each other. "Seven?" Stella suggested. The others nodded their approval. "Is seven okay?"

"I'll check." Returning to Maria he asked. "Is seven o'clock okay?"

"_Perfectto_!" Maria assured him. "Luigi and I will prepare something special. And some chocolate cheesecake too, _non_?"

"_Si_." Sam acknowledged in amusement. "Josie will love you for it. We'll see you at seven." Ending the connection he looked at his companions and said. "We're on for seven."

"Excellent!" The two women exclaimed in unison.

"It pays to know someone with connections." Meg teased, shooting Ray and Fraser mischievous looks. Fraser nodded in agreement while Ray snickered sarcastically.

Stella glanced at her watch. "It's almost four o'clock. I have to stop by the office for a bit, so I'll see you all later." Turning to Ray she gave him a warm smile. "I'm very proud of you, Ray." Then leaning up she kissed him gently on the lips. "I'll see you later."

As she turned to leave Meg called after her. "Wait up, Stell! I'll come with you." Looking up at Fraser she said in a mock stern tone. "I'll expect to see you back at the Consulate by six o'clock, Constable."

"Yes, _Inspector_." The man in red nodded, standing at attention. The only hint of his amusement was the twinkle in his eyes. Meg chuckled slightly and leaned up to brush a kiss on his lips. "You look so cute when you do that." Fraser gave her a full blown smile before she turned and joined her friend.

"Now there go two fantastic ladies." Ray remarked to Fraser and Sam as he watched the pair walk away. Then looking back to his partner he suggested. "What's say we change out of our fancy duds and get a bite to eat? I'm starved now and I don't think I'll be able to make it until seven without perishing."

"Well, if you had eaten lunch like I suggested, Ray you wouldn't be feeling hungry now." The Mountie commented without the least bit of sympathy for his friend.

"Couldn't do, Benton buddy." The blond detective countered. "Was way too nervous to think about food at lunch time."

Fraser smiled and clasped his friend's shoulder warmly. "You did very well today, my friend. I'm very proud of you."

Ray flushed slightly at the praise. "Couldn't a done it without ya, partner." It was now the Mountie's turn to look embarrassed. "Come on." The blond encouraged, slapping his friend on the back. "Let's go get something to eat. I'll buy you a cup of bark tea."

Fraser looked at him in surprise. "I didn't know there were any restaurants around Chicago that served bark tea."

"There aren't." Ray confirmed. "But I have some at home and I _got_ to get out of this uniform before it kills me."

"I highly doubt that it's going to kill you, Ray." His partner commented with a slight smile. "And besides, I don't see what all the fuss is about. I actually find something comforting about the restrictive fit of a dress uniform."

"Look, I know you love that thing. That you basically eat, sleep and live in it, but I haven't worn mine since the last time I got a citation." Ray remarked with growing annoyance. "And there's a reason for that. I _hate_ it! So come on before I die of uncomfortableness!" The blond man started trudging down the sidewalk.

"I'm not sure if a doctor would actually put that on a death certificate." Sam commented to Fraser as they watched Ray walk away.

Fraser smirked slightly and shook his head knowingly. Reaching up to rub his eyebrow he apologized to the other man on behalf of his friend. "Please excuse Ray. He tends to get a little cranky when he hasn't eaten. I think he may be hypoglycemic. But of course he'd never listen to me if I suggested it. He doesn't pay me much heed when it comes to his eating habits."

Sam chuckled slightly in amusement at the comment. He'd learned shortly after meeting the pair at the hospital when Anita was injured that the blond-haired man was almost always cranky. But it was actually in a likeable kind of way. "It's quite all right, Constable. There's no need to apologize."

"How's your friend doing, by-the-way?" The Mountie asked with obvious concern. "The one that was hit by the underage driver."

Sam gave him a look of complete surprise. He hadn't realized that the officer had remembered him. "She's doing much better. She went back to work a couple of weeks ago. She's still healing, but she's doing fine. Thanks again for all your hard work on that case. We all really appreciated it."

"No need to thank us." Fraser assured him earnestly. "We are officers of the law. It's our duty to apprehend those who are determined to break the law."

Before Sam could reply Ray's impatient voice carried back down the block. "Come on, Fraser! Before I die of waiting!"

Sam and Fraser looked back down the street to the impatiently waiting man who was standing beside the driver's door of his black GTO. "He's always dying of something, isn't he?" Sam remarked with a smirk.

Fraser nodded his head and gave a slight sigh. "Sometimes I wish he'd just hurry up and get it over with." Looking at Sam he added. "We'll see you at seven."

"See you later." Sam acknowledged as the other man walked away. He laughed as he heard Ray saying to his partner.

"I thought we'd call Tony and order a pizza before we go out to dinner."

Sam chuckled as he pulled out his cell phone and punched in the number for Josie's cell, deciding it would be easier to just bypass her incompetent assistant. When she answered he greeted brightly. "Hi, honey. There's been a change of plans for tonight..."


	13. Chapter 13

"Ah, Sam! Josie! _Benvenuto_!"

Both Sam and Josie laughed at Maria's hearty welcome. "Hello, Maria." Josie gave the older Italian woman a warm hug.

After Maria hugged her back she pulled back and cradled Josie's face in both of her hands. "How are you, _cuore curo_? You okay?"

The younger woman favored her with a sad smile. "I'm okay."

"Come, let's get you seated." Maria encouraged. "Some of your friends are already here." She led them to a large round booth in one corner of the restaurant. Benton Fraser and Meg Thatcher were already seated, waiting for their friends.

"Honey, I believe you remember Constable Fraser." Sam indicated the dark-haired man seated at the table. "And this is his fiancée, Inspector Meg Thatcher."

Josie gave the officers a warm smile. "It's nice to see you again, Constable."

"Likewise." The Canadian acknowledged pleasantly. "Sam tells me that your friend is doing much better."

"Yes, she is." Josie acknowledged, scooting into the booth beside Meg. "She just started back to work the week before last. She's still sore, but she's definitely doing better."

When Meg gave Fraser a curious look he explained. "Ray and I investigated a hit and run incident a couple of months ago. Josie's friend was the victim."

"Oh, my." Meg gave Josie a sympathetic look. "I'm glad to hear she's doing better."

"A lot better than Sheila." The young girl felt her lips begin to tremble as she glanced at Sam, her eyes starting to well up with tears.

Sam slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. Josie flashed him an appreciative smile. He gave her shoulders a squeeze in return. Then realizing that Meg and Fraser were looking at them curiously he explained. "Josie's best friend from High School was killed in a car accident last month."

"Oh, dear." Fraser gave her a sympathetic look. "That must be very hard. I know how upset I was when Ray was injured last year."

"What happened?" Sam pressed curiously, grateful to get the conversation off of Sheila.

"Meg and I and the two Rays were pursuing a suspect called Muldoon." Fraser began but was interrupted by Josie who asked curiously. "Two Rays?"

"Both my partners since I came to Chicago were named Ray." Fraser explained.

"Yeah, but _I'm_ the better lookin' one." A male voice commented jokingly. The two couples looked up to find Ray and Stella standing before them.

"That's a matter of opinion." Fraser teased as his friend slid into the booth beside him. Stella slid in beside Ray.

"Well that's mine, Benton buddy and that's the only one that really matters." The blond replied with a decided nod of his head. Fraser smiled at the firmness of the other man's reply.

"I don't know." Meg commented with a mischievous look. "You may be the better looking one, but I'd also say you're the more aggravating one too."

"Spoken like a true Ice Queen." Ray retorted shooting her a mock annoyed look.

"Ray, you know very well that Meg is not an Ice Queen." Fraser commented dutifully, playing his expected part in the ongoing sparing game between his best friend and his fiancée."

"Maybe not to you, buddy." The Chicago cop remarked with a sly grin. "But we're not all so fortunate."

Stella shook her head and said. "You guys have got to come up with some new material. This argument is getting so old!" Her three friends chuckled in agreement.

Josie looked at the quartet curiously and asked. "How did the four of you all meet up anyway? If you don't mind my saying so, you all seem quite different personality wise, yet you appear to be quite close friends. What's your story?"

Sam couldn't help but chuckle and give her shoulders a squeeze. "Asked like a true reporter." When Josie shot him a surprised look he teased. "I told you that you were a great writer and that all you needed to do was find your story. Well now you seem to be finding several of them." Josie flushed slightly at the praise.

"You wanting to interview us for your column?" Stella asked eagerly, secretly pleased at the idea.

"Well, I hadn't thought about it really." The columnist admitted but then looked thoughtful. "But its definitely a thought. If you guys don't mind that is."

"Sounds fine to me." Stella agreed readily. Then looking at her friends she asked. "How about you guys?"

Ray and Fraser looked at each other for a few moments, seeming to be communicating without words. After a couple nods Fraser turned to his fiancée and asked curiously. "What do you think?"

Meg gave him a bright smile and said. "I think its a wonderful idea!"

The partners exchanged another look before nodding simultaneously. "Okay." Looking back to Josie they repeated. "Okay."

Josie gave them a delighted smile. "Wonderful!" Reaching into her bad she pulled out a notebook. "Well then, why don't we start at the beginning." Before anything further could be said Maria came bustling over with Luigi in tow.

"Sam! Josie!" Luigi greeted his friends warmly, an enthusiastic smile on his face. "It's good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too, Luigi." Sam rose to his feet and greeted the other man warmly. Josie followed suit.

"We've missed you both." Luigi told them sincerely. "You here to celebrate?" He gave Sam a knowing look and glanced at Josie warmly.

Sam smiled, knowing what the other man was thinking and wishing it was so. "We are here to celebrate, but not what you think." He gestured towards Ray and explained. "This is Detective Ray Kowalski of the Chicago Police Department and this is his partner, Constable Benton Fraser of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. A few months ago Detective Kowalski and Constable Fraser caught some escaped criminals who had taken a daycare center hostage. Detective Kowalski received a citation for bravery for it today, so we're celebrating their heroics."

Luigi looked at the partners with clear admiration. "_Congratulazioni_! And _benvenuto_ to _Luigi's_!" He told them eagerly. Looking at his wife he said something in Italian. She smiled and nodded her head in agreement. Luigi looked back to the group and informed them. "In honor of your celebration, everything you order tonight is on us!" Everyone chimed in trying to refuse the generous offer, but the Italian man wouldn't be dissuaded. "_Assurdita_! We insist! Maria will take your order and I will prepare the best meal you've ever had!" He flashed them all a broad smile before disappearing back to the kitchen.

Maria smiled affectionately after him. Looking at Ray and Fraser she said seriously. "Luigi has a soft spot for police officers. He was an officer in Italy for five years until he was seriously injured in the line of duty."

"I never knew that." Sam gave her a look of pure surprise.

"He doesn't like talking about it." Maria told him sadly. "When he was injured his partner was killed. He's very sensitive about the whole thing."

Ray and Fraser looked at each other and nodded. "That's understandable." They both said together.

The subject then changed as Maria took their order. When she moved off Josie looked at Sam and shook her head sadly. "I never knew that about Luigi."

"Neither did I." Sam echoed, his expression mirroring her own.

"There's a few things worse for a cop then loosing his partner." Ray remarked truthfully, an unreadable look in his eyes.

"Have either of you ever lost a partner that way?" Josie asked gently.

Both men shook their heads. "Fortunately not." Ray told her seriously. "But I've seen the reaction of those that have."

"As have I." Fraser echoed, a sad look in his dark eyes.

Seeing how pensive the two men had gotten Josie decided to change the subject. Looking at Ray and Fraser she prompted. "So, how did you two end up working together?" Stella and Meg exchanged knowing looks.

Looking back to the younger woman Meg told her with a grin. "I hope you don't have any big plans for the rest of the night."

"Why's that?" Josie pressed with a puzzled look.

"Because we could be here for a while." Stella added with a mischievous look at Ray and Fraser. "You've just asked them to relate their favorite story."

"And its a _long_ story." Meg added.

"Well, I'm all ears." Josie gave the partners an encouraging smile.

Fraser began the tale. "It all began in 1994 when I came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of my father. During the course of that investigation I worked very closely with the District 27 station of the Chicago Police Department. The detective in charge of the case was Raymond Vecchio. We had a bit of a rocky start since he wasn't all that interested in solving a case involving a Canadian police officer, but we eventually became friends. So after we solved the case and I found myself permanently assigned to the Chicago branch of the Canadian Consulate..."

"Permanently exiled you mean." Ray Kowalski corrected a trifle bitterly. It still bugged him that the RCMP higher ups had treated his best friend so abominably because he'd had to turn in a fellow member of the RCMP for murder. It was like Fraser had been the criminal instead of the other guy.

Fraser ignored his friend's indignant remark and continued his story. "Ray Vecchio and I worked together for about three years until he was hand picked to go undercover with the mob as Armando 'the Bookman' Langostini. When that happened they needed someone to take over as Ray at Division 27."

"You mean _for_ Ray?" Josie corrected his grammar out of habit.

"No, he means _as_ Ray." Ray Kowalski confirmed. "If they were going to convince everyone that Ray Vecchio was really Armando Langostini then they needed to convince everyone that Ray Vecchio was still working at the District 27 police department. So that's where I came in."

"So you came in pretending to be Ray Vecchio?" Sam commented, an impressed look on his face. "That must have been hard."

"It certainly was." Ray nodded. "If I was to be Ray Vecchio I had to be able to think like him, have the same memories, the same knowledge of case histories. It took a lot of time and coaching."

"So did you two hit it off right away?" The reporter asked curiously.

The two friends looked at each other and smiled. "Pretty much." Ray acknowledged with a nod. "It took us a little while to get use to each other, but we finally worked out our differences." The partners shared a knowing smile.

Before Josie could ask them to elaborate Maria returned with their drinks. After placing them on the table she said. "I'll be back in a minute with your salads."

When she left Stella looked at Josie curiously and asked. "So you think you got something for a story?"

Josie considered her notepad carefully for several moments, thoughtfully scanning the notes she'd made during the conversation. "Yeah, I think I do have something here. But I do have a few more questions."

"Fire away." Ray encouraged eagerly.

"Do you have any memorable cases you'd like to share?" Once again Stella and Meg exchanged knowing looks.

**LIFE AND TIMES OF CHICAGO**

_A Weekly Column by Josie Geller_

_Sun-Times Staff Writer_

Most of us have had the privilege of having at least one really good friend in our lives. Someone you felt you could share anything with; trust anything to. Trust your life with. For most of us our friendships don't involve putting our lives in the hands of our friends, nor having them put there's in ours. But for members of Chicago's finest such trust is a part of every day life.

A couple of months ago I had the great honor of meeting two very remarkable police officers with a truly unique relationship. These two men, who are as different as night and day, were thrown together by chance and circumstance and have made a truly exceptional team. This team consists of a well respected Chicago detective who has been recently awarded a citation for bravery, his fourth in his ten year career, and a Constable of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Canadian officer first came to Chicago about five years ago on the trail of the killers of his father and for a variety of reasons he stayed working as a liaison with the Canadian Consulate.

Now some of you may know this remarkable pair, some of you may have witnessed them at work. An odder team you've never met you may think, but a closer one neither. They argue about everything from eating habits to the best way to pursue a case. And sometimes you'd swear that they hated each other, but that is far from true. If you have something bad to say about one of them, you'd better be prepared to face the other. They say that opposites attract and this friendship is the perfect example of that saying. Thrown together by a variety of circumstances beyond their control, they made a partnership seemingly doomed from the start grow and flourish. So much so, that they've become best friends.

When asked about the unique partnership both officers' bosses merely shook their heads and grinned with amusement. They're a handful, they said, but they're the best crime fighting team Chicago has ever seen. They're a one-two punch; a duet. The Canadian sets the criminals up, the American knocks them down, or so I'm proudly told.

So the next time you see a Chicago flatfoot and a Canadian Mountie walking down the streets of Chicago remember you are seeing true friendship and partnership in action. And from what I understand, you'll never miss seeing them. Just look for the blond man with the crazy hair arguing with the life-size toy soldier.

"I can't believe that we made it to the championships this year!" Josie commented eagerly to Anita and Aldys. The three of them were sitting in the bleachers watching the two teams warm up. "I mean when was the last time that the _Chicago Sun-Times _team actually made it this far?"

"As much as I hate to voice this out loud, I'm sure that Rob had a lot to do with that." Anita remarked, glancing over to where Rob and Sam were having a tête-à-tête by the pitcher's mound.

"Why do you hate to say that out loud?" Aldys, Rob's now official girlfriend asked curiously. "Isn't it good to give praise where praise is due?"

"Of course it is." Anita readily agreed. "But that adorable boyfriend of yours tends to take things to extremes, especially where baseball is concerned. If he heard me giving him credit for getting us this far, next year he'll be even more insufferable then he was this year."

Josie laughed knowingly. "If that's at all possible! He's been pretty bad as it is." Glancing down at her watch she noted the time. "Speaking of the beast, I'd better get down there and warm up before he notices that I'm not out there."

"Break a leg, Champ!" Anita teased lightly.

"Gee thanks." Sending her friend an amused smile Josie put her baseball cap on and started trotting down the steps to the field. She was so excited about today's game. She had a feeling in her gut that today was going to be _the _day. The day that Sam finally proposed to her. She'd been waiting for him to try again after that failed attempt last month shortly after Sheila's accident. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wanted to be Mrs. Samuel James Coulson. These last few months as Sam's girlfriend had been wonderful. In the confines of his love she had finally put all her insecurities aside and had come to realize just what a valuable and special person she was. She'd finally managed to exercise Billy Prince and the rest of her High School bullies from her life. It had been a real liberating experience. One that made her feel much stronger and more self-assured. Unfortunately, that didn't make her anymore sure footed.

Just as she reached the last step her foot caught on the unlevel edge and she started plunging head first into the field. Suddenly her fall was stayed as a pair of muscular arms grabbed her, pulling her against a broad chest. "Are you okay?" A male voice asked with visible concern.

Josie nodded her head against the chest, a bright stain burning her cheeks. As she pushed herself gently away she mumbled an apology. "I'm sorry. My mother always warned me about running down stairs."

"Hey, it's okay." He told her easily, an amused smile on his face. "I always enjoy having a beautiful woman fall for me." Josie flushed even hotter at his comment and kept her eyes down. She couldn't bare to look him in the eye. "But maybe before we get married we should try dating a bit first." At those words she looked up at him and then nearly gaped in surprise. He gave her a curious look, but took her reaction in stride. Extending his hand he introduced. "My name's Bill Prince. What's yours?"

"Josie." She whispered, her eyes still wide as she unconsciously reached out and shook his hand.

"Well, Josie it's a pleasure to meet you." He told her sincerely, giving her a pleasant smile. "What do you say about going out and getting a pizza after the game? We can celebrate together."

"Celebrate?" She gave him a puzzled look.

"Sure," He acknowledged eagerly. "We're on opposite teams after all. One of us is going to be needing to celebrate. What do you say? Looser buys winner supper. Or winner buys looser supper. Whatever I end up being that allows me to buy for you. What do you say? We can get better acquainted over pepperoni." He flashed her a charming smile.

Josie's eyes narrowed slightly as she gave him an angry look. "I think that you and I are well enough acquainted, Mr. Prince." She told him coolly. "As a matter of fact, as far as I'm concerned I wish that you and I had never met." Then without another word she turned on her heels and fled back to the dressing rooms. Bill gaped in astonishment after her.

"What did you say to her?" An angry voice demanded from behind him. Bill turned around and found an all too familiar face behind him. He felt his jaw start to ache as his mind traveled back to the last time he'd seen this young man so upset.

Holding his hands up in surrender Bill said lightly. "Hey, Rob, how's it going?"

"What did you say to her?" Rob demanded again, his eyes sparking with hatred.  
"Nothing!" Bill insisted earnestly. "She tripped on the stairs, I caught her, we said 'hi', I introduced myself and invited her out for supper after the game and then she flipped and took off. I swear to you, Rob I never did anything to her! I was a complete gentleman. I was even charming."

"That would be a first." Rob spat out bitingly. "I don't think you've ever been any of those when it comes to her. You certainly weren't on Prom Night and she's lived with that for the last eight years of her life." Bill frowned at him, not understanding what he was talking about. Suddenly Rob realized that the other man hadn't recognized his sister.

"What's going on over here?" Another voice suddenly interrupted the pair. Rob and Bill looked over to see Sam approaching them, a concerned look on his face. Looking at Rob he added. "You've got Gus in a panic. He thinks that you're about to take a round out of the other team's shortstop." He gave Bill a friendly smile and gestured towards Rob. "I hope this guy hasn't been giving you too much of a hard time. He tends to get a little over zealous when it comes to baseball."

Bill gave Rob a cautious look. "Yeah, I've heard that."

"Sam, this has nothing to do with baseball or the game." Rob quickly informed the other man. "This is about Josie."

"What about Josie?" Sam's concern returned, the pit of his stomach tightening up as he awaited Rob's reply.

"Sam, I'd like you to meet the scum ball who made Josie's Senior Prom night a living hell." Rob glared at the man. "Mr. Billy Prince."

Bill watched nervously as Sam's face registered several different emotions: surprise, revolution, confusion, anger, hatred. Finally he seemed to settle on one and spoke, his tone one of controlled fury. "So, you're the guy who's responsible for Josie's insecurities."

"I..." Bill began to speak but Sam cut him off.

"And you're the guy who treated her like dirt on what should have been the most special and memorable night of her High School career."

"I didn't..." Bill tried again, but Sam once again interrupted him.

"You know something, you are an incredibly stupid man." When Bill raised his eyebrows at him he continued. "You had the admiration and adoration of _the_ most incredible young woman that I have ever met and you just threw it away. If that's not stupidity, I don't know what is."

"I know she's great." Bill acknowledged, finally managing to say something. Sam and Rob both gave him a surprised look. "But she's just so..."

"Amazing." Sam supplied. "Intelligent, witty, crazy. Not to mention the most beautiful woman that I've ever laid my eyes on." By the time he finished he was looking past Bill to Josie who was standing behind him, tears in her eyes.

Bill looked over his shoulder and was surprised to find the young woman that he'd stopped from falling earlier. Suddenly something clicked and his jaw dropped to his shoes. "Josie Geller?"

"That's right." Josie nodded, glancing at Sam for courage. She had come back to the field just in time to hear what Sam had said to Billy. If she'd thought she couldn't love Sam anymore than she did five minutes ago, she was wrong. She loved him so much more now.

"Wow!" Billy exclaimed after giving her the once over twice. "You look wonderful!" At the flicker of surprise in her eyes he quickly insisted. "I mean it, you look terrific!"

"I'm afraid your praise is a little late, Mr. Prince." Sam told the other man seriously as he walked over to Josie and slid a possessive arm around her waist. "I'm afraid you blew your chance at this prize catch." He looked down at Josie and gave her a loving smile. "She's already spoken for. And I'm smart enough to realize what I treasure I have." Josie favored him with a tender smile and leaned up to give him a kiss. When they pulled away Sam gave her waist a squeeze and then turned his attention back to Bill. "I guess I should be thanking you for your great act of stupidity."

"What do you mean?" Bill gave Sam a confused frown.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Sam replied lightly. "Your loss is my gain. And I can assure you that I am _never_ letting her go." Once again he turned his smile on Josie.

Josie returned the look of affection before looking back to the man who had ruined her life for so long. "You know, for a longtime I let what you did to me affect how I viewed myself. Every time I looked in mirror all I could see was 'Josie Grossie'."

"I didn't start that nickname." Bill pointed out a little defensively. He jerked his finger towards Rob. "That was your brother's invention."

"Hey, don't shift the blame." Rob objected seriously. "I've already come clean about that. Besides, that nickname was nothing compared to what you did to her! You humiliated her to the lowest! You..."

"It's okay, Rob!" Josie's exclamation interrupted her infuriated brother. When he looked at her she gave him a small smile. "Rob, I appreciate you standing up for me." She looked at Sam. "Both of you." Then squaring her shoulders she added. "But this is _my_ battle and one that I have to fight for myself."

A proud smile spread across Sam's face as her confident attitude. Giving her waist a tight squeeze he said. "I always knew you could." He gave her a tender kiss before releasing her. Looking at her brother Sam encouraged. "Come on, Rob. There's something that I need your help with."

Rob continued to glare at Bill until Josie gave him a gentle shove. "Go on, little brother. I can handle things from here."

Rob gave her a skeptical look for several moments before finally nodding. "Okay, but if you need anything I'll just be over here."

"I appreciate that Rob." She gave him a warm smile. "But I'll be okay." She gave Billy a cool look. "He has no power over me anymore." She shifted her gaze to Sam and gave him a warm smile. Sam reached over and gave her arm a supportive squeeze.

"Come on, Rob." He encouraged his companion. "Let's go get ready."

As Sam and Rob moved off Josie turned her attention back to the young man who had haunted her dreams and plagued her life for eight long years. She was surprised to find that he was watching her nervously, maybe even a bit shamefully now that they were alone. Josie opened her mouth to begin the speech that she had so carefully rehearsed a few minutes ago in the locker room. She was really going to let him have it for all the horrible, uncalled for things that he had done to her Promo night and during the weeks that followed. He'd made her life a living nightmare, the memory of those weeks affecting her life right up to now. But all that hurt, all the anger, all the cutting remarks died instantly on her lips with Billy's next words.

"I am _so_ sorry." Josie blinked a couple of times at his heartfelt apology, not sure she had heard him right. But Bill took advantage of the silence and rushed on. "I don't blame you for being angry with me - for hating me even, but please believe me when I say that I am really and truly sorry for what happened."

"Why?" Josie took him back by the question.

"Why?" He repeated, not quite sure what she was looking for.

"Why did you do it?" She asked, her tone very cool and controlled. "Why did you take what should have been one of the greatest nights of my life and turn it into a horror fest? Why did you do that?"

"It was Mike's idea." Bill told her honestly. "It was all Mike." Mike Fenton had been Billy's best friend in High School. When Josie had read the poem that she had written for Billy in front of the class, Mike had sat behind Billy and laughed and thumped his friend on the shoulders the whole time. "He was the one that put me up to it. He was the one that made the videotape, who posted the pictures, who set the whole thing up. It was all Mike."

"But why did you go along with it?" She pressed, her tone trembling slightly. "Why did you throw eggs at me? Why did you flaunt your gorgeous cheerleader date in my face? Why did you let Mike do all that other stuff?"

Heavy silence hung in the air as she awaited his reply. "Because I was a chicken." He finally admitted shamefully. With a deep sigh he started to explain. "I knew you had a crush on me, hell the whole school knew it. You weren't exactly subtle about the fact." Josie flushed slightly at the memory of how she'd continually fawned and fussed over him. "Anyway, Mike use to have a hay day teasing me about it. He was really getting quite obnoxious about the whole thing. Then the day that you read that poem...well he _really_ thought that was great. He rode me the rest of the day about it until I'd finally had enough." He colored slightly as he told her. "Truth be told, I really liked your poem. As a matter of fact, I was really touched that you'd bother to write it, especially after the fact that I'd always made fun of you before that."

"Then..."

"Why?" He finished with a knowing smile. Billy sighed and sat down on a cement step at the base of the stairs that Josie had earlier tripped down. Looking at his hands for a few moments he paused before looking up at her and admitting. "Because in my anger with Mike I unintentionally confessed that I liked your poem."

She was very tempted to dismiss his words as false, but her experience with the cool kids at South Glen South helped her to understand exactly how big a faux pas such an admission on his part would have been in the High School inner social circles. Sitting down on the step beside him she nodded her head and said. "I see. So, let me guess. Mike used that little piece of information to blackmail you into humiliating me."

"Exactly." He nodded his head. "He said that he'd tell the whole school that I was in love with you if I didn't go along with him. And my 'cheerleader date' was actually his girlfriend sent to make sure that I didn't back out at the last minute. She wasn't even suppose to show herself. That was her idea at the last minute."

Josie gave him a careful look before gently asking. "What would have been so wrong with everyone thinking you at least like me. All social standing aside."

"Nothing, in retrospect." He confessed honestly. "But right then everything. I was one of the most popular boys in school and you were..."

"Josie Grossie." She finished when he hesitated. He gave her an embarrassed look. She looked out to the ball field where the two teams were warming up. "Five months ago I would have said that you were lying to me. That you were trying to shift the blame and weasel out of taking responsibility for what you had done. But due to some events since then I'm inclined to believe you. I'm not saying that I'm ready to forgive you, at least not yet, but at least I don't hate you anymore. As a matter of fact I feel sorry for you." She gave him a sorrowful look. "I feel sorry for you because you missed out on what could have been, if nothing else, a wonderful friendship. Believe it or not I have turned out to be a pretty amazing person, or so I've been told. I'm smart, I'm funny and I'm really quite beautiful both inside and out. If I was you I'd be kicking myself pretty hard for missing out on a pretty good catch." Josie told him all this without the slightest hint of pomposity or egotism. She was merely stating the facts that she had recently come to learn and accept herself. She was surprised when he nodded his head in agreement.

"I do." He gave her a sad little smile. "You really are amazing, Josie Geller. And I hope one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me. Maybe one day we can even be friends."

"Maybe." She acknowledged neutrally, not willing to commit to anything at this point. The sat in silence for several minutes as they continued to watch their respective teams warm up. Eventually Josie asked. "So what happened to Mike? You two still good friends?"

With his eyes still fixed on the two teams Billy replied. "I won't be seeing him for at least another five to ten." When she looked at him in confusion he added. "Mike's in Joliet."

Josie's eyes widened. "What did he do?"

"Armed Robbery." Bill replied. "Held up a bank a couple of years ago from what I hear. I hadn't seen him really since a year or so after High School."

"So you lost your High School best friend too." Josie mused soberly, glancing slightly towards him. "Looks like we have something in common after all."

Billy looked at her sorrowful face and prompted gently. "What happened?"

Josie gazed unseeingly back to the ball players. "She was killed in a car accident last month."

There was a long pause as Billy struggled to find something to say. Finally he settled for a simple. "I'm sorry."

Josie nodded in acknowledgement of his sympathy, but suddenly found that she was struggling to hold back tears. Not wanting him to see her cry she suddenly jumped to her feet and rambled. "I should really go warm up before Gus has a fit."

"Gus your boyfriend?" Billy queried, also rising to his feet.

Josie shook her head. "No, Gus is my boss and our coach. My boyfriend's name is Sam."

"He seems like a nice enough guy." Billy remarked, noticing that the man in question was watching them carefully from the pitcher's mound. "And he certainly seems to adore you."

Josie smiled and followed Billy's gaze. "Yes he does. And the feeling is quite mutual. He is a wonderful man."

"Well, I'm glad that you've found happiness." Billy told her earnestly, reaching over and taking her hand in both of his. "You deserve it. And please believe me when I say that I'm really very sorry for what happened Prom night and during the weeks that followed. If its any consolation, after I healed from the beating Rob gave me for what happened, I inflicted the exact same thing on Mike."

Josie gave him a slightly amused smile. "It makes me feel somewhat better." Her expression sobered slightly as she admitted. "I'm glad we ran into each other today. Now I think I may be able to finally let go of the rest of the pain I've been harboring since High School and move on with my life."

"I'm glad that I could help." He told her. "But I'm sorry that I inflicted the pain on you in the first place."

"Well at least now I know that it wasn't entirely your fault." She commented thoughtfully. "I'm not sure why, but that thought helps take a lot of the sting out of what happened."

Billy gave her a slow smile and shook his head in obvious wonderment. "You know something, you were right You really _are_ amazing." He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. "I wish you all the best." He whispered into her ear before giving her hand one final squeeze and moving off to join his teammates on the field. Josie watched him go, a mixture of surprise and confusion washing over her.

For eight years she had wondered what it would be like to see him again. For eight years she had run hundreds of different scenarios over and over in her mind. What she'd say, what he would say, what she'd do. And now that it had finally happened she found that none of those scenarios had come true. That was because not once did she expect or imagine that he would ask her forgiveness. Never in a million years would she have suspected that he had been put up to it, that he himself had been a victim of an even more evil mastermind. Or that all this had happened because he had voice to his best friend that he had liked her poem.

Before her experience at South Glen South she would never have believed such an explanation. She would probably have laughed in his face and accused him of telling tales, but her experience there had given her an inside understanding of the inner workings of the in crowd that she'd never had before. She hadn't realized before then that the popular kids were just as much a slave to opinion of their peers as the other kids were. Perhaps even more so because they were more in the spotlight. She was very grateful that she'd had the opportunity to acquire that knowledge since it would definitely help speed up the healing process.

Josie shifted her attention back to the ball field and noticed that it was now devoid of players. Glancing at her watch she realized it was only five minutes 'til game time. Looking back up again she was surprised to find Sam standing on the pitcher's mound, a microphone in his hand.

"Josie Geller, would you please come to the pitcher's mound." He paged over the sound system.

"What's he up to?" Josie mused to herself as she headed towards her boyfriend at a slow jog. "What's going on?" She asked him when she reached the pitcher's mound.

Sam just gave her a warm smile and reached out to take her hand in his. Josie was vaguely aware that there was music playing over the ball field's stereo system. Her eyes widened slightly and her lips formed a perfect 'O' as Sam began singing the lyrics to Lonestar's new song _Amazed_:

_Every time our eyes meet,_

_This feeling inside me,_

_Is almost more than I can take._

_Baby when you touch me,_

_I can feel how much you love me,_

_And it just blows me away._

_I've never been this close to anyone, or anything_

_I can hear your thoughts,_

_I can see your dreams._

_I don't know how you do what you do,_

_I'm so in love with you, it just keeps getting better._

_I wanna spend the rest of my life, with you by my side._

_Forever and ever_

_Every little thing that you do,_

_Baby I'm amazed by you."_

Josie found herself unable to move or to even breathe as she tried hard to comprehend what was going on. It felt like a dream. Here she was, standing on the pitcher's mound of a ball field before hundreds of onlookers, being serenaded by her wonderfully romantic boyfriend, who she was surprised to learn had a terrific voice. She strongly suspected that her earlier 'feeling' was coming true. That she was right now being proposed to by the most wonderful man she had ever met. She found herself trembling slightly with anticipation as he continued to sing:

_The smell of your skin,_

_The taste of your kiss,_

_The way you whisper in the dark._

_Your hair all around me, baby you surround me. _

_You touch every place in my heart._

_Oh it feels like the first time, every time._

_I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes._

_I don't know how you do what you do,_

_I'm so in love with you, it just keeps getting better._

_I wanna spend the rest of my life, with you by my side._

_Forever and ever_

_Every little thing that you do,_

_Baby I'm amazed by you."_

Josie watched wordlessly as Sam went down on one knee and released her hand to pull a small velvet box out of his pocket. Opening it to show her the ring he finished the last lyrics of the song:

_Every little thing that you do,_

_I'm so in love with you,_

_It just keeps getting better._

_I wanna spend the rest of my life,_

_With you by my side,_

_Forever and ever._

_Every little thing that you do,_

_Baby, I'm amazed by you."_

"Josie Geller, I love you. Will you marry me?"

Josie felt tears spring into her eyes as she whispered softly. "Yes." The next thing she next knew Sam was on his feet and kissing her tenderly on the lips, all his love and emotions pouring into the kiss as cheers and applause exploded around them.

After a few moments Sam pulled back and brought her attention back to the ring he still held in his hand. Taking her left hand in his he held the ring just at the tip of her ring finger. "May I?" He asked with a smile.

"You may." She assured him and couldn't help the tears that fell as he slipped the gold and diamond rind on her finger. After admiring it for a couple moments she pronounced. "It's beautiful." Then she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I love you."

"I love you too." He hugged her tightly and then kissed her again. They were interrupted by the sound of Rob clearing his throat.

"Sorry guys." Rob actually did look embarrassed about interrupting them. "But the ump says its time to play ball."

Sam nodded and looked back to Josie. "You ready to play a little baseball?"

"With you in my life, I'm ready for anything." She exclaimed excitedly, her eyes sparkling with eagerness.


End file.
